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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26611642">archived memories</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/syilca/pseuds/syilca'>syilca</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>between the seams of ripples [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Legend of Zelda &amp; Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>:~), Angst, F/M, Fluff, Pining, Pre-Calamity (Legend of Zelda), Something I came up with at like. 2 am! haha., hope u enjoy!!, i created these to be fit between the canon memories, i love them.. so much..., realized feelings, so I wanted to explore a bit of pre-calamity, zelink</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 05:07:31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>25,584</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26611642</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/syilca/pseuds/syilca</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>bits and pieces of zelink scenes strewn in between the canon memories in botw!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Link &amp; Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>between the seams of ripples [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2045431</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>84</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>306</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. falling far from the tree</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Takes place between Memory 1-3!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Do you not have anything better to do?”</p><p>Zelda turned around to face him fully, arms crossed, glaring down. It was the only time she had the upper-hand in height—when they were on a hill, since he always shuffled behind her like some lost puppy.</p><p>“These parts of the woods are safe,” Zelda said waving her arms in the air in an attempt to prove something. “I’ve been here a billion times without anyone! Wait—“ Her glare at this point had become deathly. “How’d you even know I was here?” She was sure she snuck out using her secret passage—unless. Unless it wasn’t secret anymore, because now he probably knew where it was.</p><p>He didn’t speak, only looking up at her with those large blue eyes of his. Anyone could easily get lost in them, they were so vibrant. Startlingly blue, and she would admit it. They were beautiful, she was jealous.</p><p>Jealous about every aspect of him.</p><p>Typically she would ignore him completely—simply stare at him when she walked past him, or maybe huff out a breath of annoyance when they made eye contact—but today, she was tired. And she wanted to be alone.</p><p>She wasn't sure why she even bothered to ask him a question, because he never answered anyway. He merely gazed at her with pursed lips, which angered her even further. She let out a strangled, short shout of frustration as she threw her arms in the air again in an attempt to let out some steam. No matter how many times she spoke to him, the very few times she had, he would simply stare at her. Acknowledging her existence, maybe. But refusing to speak.</p><p>Which simply made her even<em> more</em> angry.</p><p>“Will you say something?” Zelda stomped toward him. To her slight surprise, his eyebrow twitched. "Anything?" A moment of silence passed between them. “Of course you won’t.” She muttered, mere inches away from his face.</p><p>She leaned away, trying to read his expression, but to no avail, she couldn’t. She never could. He was a puzzle that would be impossible to solve, and she wasn’t sure if she would ever be able to in this lifetime.</p><p>But really, she just wondered…</p><p>Does he despise her, being forced into this destiny without a choice? Does he despise having to follow her heel to heel, watching her back every day? These questions were constantly at the tip of her tongue, but she always swallowed them back, afraid to know the answer.</p><p>She turned around briskly, stomping back up the hill, and she could hear the sound of the Master Sword and his Hyrule shield clacking away behind her, following.</p><p>All she wanted, for one day, was to bask in the sun by herself.</p><p>Highlight: by <em>herself</em>.</p><p>But no, not even she could think about her failures in peace, and now she had some silent man following her every step, watching her every move, probably recording each and every mistake she’s made since then to report it back to her father.</p><p>Well, she wasn’t planning on giving him anything today, and she was going to continue walking until her legs gave out, and he’d think twice about following her out again.</p>
<hr/><p>The late afternoon shimmered away into dusk, and they were still pacing their way through the forest. The entire time Zelda had simply picked at whatever seemed interesting to her, making note of her findings. Somewhere down the line, the initial anger she had simmered down with the coolness of the air.<br/>
She had snacks to munch on, but she never saw Link take a bite out of anything. His eyes had trailed her the entire time.</p><p>Zelda let out a sigh. There was no way he wasn't starving at this point, and she didn't want to be the one to drag his corpse back to the castle. Scanning the trees around her, her eyes noticed the familiar curve of a common tree. As she made her way there with purpose, she lifted herself up into it—now this caused a reaction out of him. He jogged up to her shortly after, looking up at her with concern, ushering her to come down.</p><p>“Just stay put for once.” She waved his hand away and continued to climb up until she settled on a branch with a satisfying ‘oof’.</p><p>She stared down at him, and noticed the twitch of his eyebrow as she did so. The second possible reaction of the day! Was it annoyance, perhaps? Had she finally evoked some sort of emotion out of him? If he wasn’t here, which he always was, she would’ve patted herself on the back.</p><p>“Hey,” she said, plucking an apple from a tree. His attention averted to the apple she held. She stifled a laugh when she saw him quickly lick his lips; she wasn’t sure if he even noticed he had done that. She tossed it down, and without a second to waste, he took a big bite out of it. She climbed further up to reach the next apple and snatched it. By that time, he was already done, and she tossed another one down.</p><p>She thought it was foolish of him to follow her without making food for himself, and so she decided to reach for a third apple higher up, until she remembered she had packaged herself a snack for the ride back that she could offer to him.</p><p>“Oh!” Zelda brightened up as she rummaged through her pouch for—</p><p>The branch beneath her groaned as it dipped—leaving just enough time for her to reach for the trunk, to fancy the idea of getting herself out of danger in time, before the crack of the wood ricocheted in the air.</p><p>Zelda yelped in surprised as she plummeted to the ground, the scenery before her whizzing upward in a flurry of green and brown—</p><p>And before she could even process what had happened, her mind still dizzy from falling, she was on the ground. Heavy breaths and swirling thoughts mingled with one another as she realized how… how warm the grass was.</p><p>And then realized how smooth the grass was, and how… how the texture just didn’t feel right. She quickly glanced down below her, but instead of being flattened on the grass, she was flattened against—him.</p><p>Link.</p><p>Zelda jumped out of his arms like a cat jumping out of water.</p><p>“I’m so sorry!” she scurried a few feet away from him, patting down her body to ground herself. “I—the branch and… the weight…”</p><p>Link laid there in the grass for a second, scratching his head, before he lifted himself on his elbows. His hair was littered with leaves and small twigs. A rare sight to see him in such disarray.</p><p>Zelda felt her heart drop as he picked himself up, not really responding to her apology. He shook his hair with both hands to get rid of the debris.</p><p>If he didn’t hate her before, she was sure he did now.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. merry go round</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Between Memory 1-3</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">Zelda twirled, twirled, and twirled with the rhythm of the music—an endless merry-go-round that she had to take part in, like a stringed puppet forced to dance until her feet bled.</p><p class="p1">She really did feel like it was, as the laughter of the Hylian men she danced with pierced through her ears, an endlessly constant reminder of who she was.</p><p class="p1">She stared up at the ceiling of the ballroom, watching the intricate designs turn blurred and dizzy in her vision with the constant movement she was in. Switching and turning, gripping the various hands of different men, smiling pleasantly at them, nodding, keeping her mouth shut—</p><p class="p1">As she twirled once more into the arms of another, she was met with a wave of familiarity. Her view of the ceiling was obscured by a red-headed woman.</p><p class="p1">“You seem awfully engaged,” Urbosa mused, smiling. Zelda let her shoulders sag in relief, relaxing just a little.</p><p class="p1">“I’m not one to fancy these… gatherings.” Zelda replied back, shrugging. “Especially when I can feel someone’s eyes poking my back throughout the entirety of it.” Zelda darted her eyes off to the side, tilting her head ever so slightly to the left. Urbosa followed her gaze, to the quiet knight standing off in the corner of the ballroom.</p><p class="p1">“Awe, come on now. He’s not so bad, is he?”</p><p class="p1">Zelda let out a short, stale laugh. “I can’t even hear my own thoughts when he’s around me.” Even though he never spoke, his presence was just… loud. At least for her.</p><p class="p1">Urbosa sighed, but with a smile, and gazed upon Zelda with eyes that reminded her of her late mother. “He is reliable, my little bird. Far more than you think. I think you two could be great friends if you would give him the chance, truly.”</p><p class="p1">Zelda mulled over her words, turning it over. A relationship in which they could be friends…</p><p class="p1">Before she could respond, she was once again thrown into the arms of a stranger.</p>
<hr/><p class="p1">Her hot breaths came out in puffs of smoke as she gazed upon the moon, sweat lightly dampening her skin, The gentle breeze cooled her down as she yearned longingly upon the land basking quietly under the moonlight. She had taken the opportunity to slip out of the ballroom, to the balcony, when no one was looking.</p><p class="p1">For once, she could hear the sound of crickets, of frogs, of the wind rustling through leaves—</p><p class="p1">A step behind her dragged her out from her moment of bliss, unsurprisingly.</p><p class="p1">Zelda didn't even turn around to see who it was—tonight, she was tired, and dreadfully sinking further and further into the murk of her thoughts. She didn’t have the energy to feel anything else.</p><p class="p1">“Not enjoying the ball, I assume?” Zelda asked, sarcasm coating her words. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him shift. When she turned around to face him, he merely gazed at her with a gentle look. For some reason, it made her feel even worse.</p><p class="p1">She turned away from him, resting her cheek on her hand as she leaned against the railing of the balcony. “Don’t you hate being here?”</p><p class="p1">He responded with a shuffle of his feet. But the sound of the act meant nothing to her.</p><p class="p1">“Well, I hate it.” Zelda declared, loudly into the night sky. “Maybe you wouldn’t know, since you’re already so…” she trailed off. There she was, igniting her own anger once more. It was funny that she realized this now, during a time where she felt utterly defeated. “Since you’re already perfectly capable of doing your job. Expectations are already met, so you really wouldn’t know how it feels, right?” She knew he wouldn’t respond, but it felt better saying it out loud. Letting all of Hylia hear it, maybe even Hylia herself would hear the silent plea tucked in between the words she was expressing.</p><p class="p1">She knew he had shuffled closer to her, but why?</p><p class="p1">She turned around and he froze, as if he was caught in some unlawful act. She watched his hand, which had been just barely lifted up, go limp immediately. Her eyes darted back to those endlessly blue eyes, masked and shielded. Urbosa’s words swam around in her mind as she stepped closer to him, observingly. They were close enough that she could hear his shallow breathing and the light thump of his heart beat against his chest. Their breaths mingled for just a second.</p><p class="p1">
  <em>Give him a chance.</em>
</p><p class="p1">An ache bloomed in her chest as Zelda shut her eyes for just a moment. The mere possibility of anything more than what they were simply pained her. She turned away from him, walking back toward the door. Dancing with unknown men was better than being around someone that surely had no desire for anything more.</p><p class="p1">But a moment of rest was not in Zelda’s agenda, since the second she stepped back into the ballroom she was whisked away within the next beat. The man’s grip on her hand was too tight—sweaty, as he pressed against her body as if he was try to hold her up.</p><p class="p1">“How do you do?” She strained a smile at him, trying to maintain some sort of proper distance between the two of them, but he was rigid. Annoyingly rigid. She didn’t really listen to him as he answered, because she was too focused on trying to push him off of her. If he took a hint, which he clearly did not, he didn’t show it. Whenever he spoke, hot breath smacked against her face. Whenever he moved, his hand that had initially rested on her upper waist moved further down her body, and his face dipped down closer to hers.</p><p class="p1">Zelda’s frown deepened, her face red with something between disbelief, humiliation, and anger. She was just about ready to shove this man to the ground—</p><p class="p1">A blade sliced the air between the man and her, close enough to nip a little skin off of the man’s nose.</p><p class="p1">A startled sound came from him as he jumped back from the blade that had come between him and Zelda, grabbing his nose as if it had been sliced clean off.</p><p class="p1">She blinked, looking at her own confused eyes in the reflection of the blade, but just as quick, it was pulled away. Zelda looked to her right, watching Link sheath his sword back.</p><p class="p1">As the man became a blabbering mess, pointing accusing fingers at him, Link merely casted him a shadow of an annoyed glance. He did not look at her and turned around, back to corners of the ballroom.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>this was supposed to be scrapped but I kinda liked it so I added it in lolol. Also decided instead of 6 chapters I'm gonna make this 8 (potentially 9 ehe). Thanks for reading!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. apology</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Shortly after Memory 4</p>
<p>Early post yay! This one's a bit on the shorter side, but I promise the next one is longer! Still getting a feel of writing these characters, so apologies if it seems a bit ooc heh. Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">Link grabbed her by her shoulders, checking her up and down, turning her body, searching for blood.</p>
<p class="p1">“Link, please—“ Zelda swatted his hands away, but he paid no mind to it. “I’m fine—hey!” Zelda yelped as he got dangerously close to a ticklish spot no one knew about. “ I promise you, I didn’t get hit!”</p>
<p class="p1">He stopped when he finally heard the tone in her voice. He let out a short exhale and finally took a step back, scrutinizing her under his gaze for a few seconds more before he tilted his head to the side. He nodded off toward a direction in the distance, Gerudo Town.</p>
<p class="p1">For once, Zelda walked behind him.</p>
<p class="p1">She hugged her arms around herself, her eyes never peeling away from his as he scoured the desert, Master Sword gripped tightly in his hand. She always thought the sword looked too big for him—he could never relax whenever he held it out. It was always bent up at an angle, because it was too long for him.</p>
<p class="p1">Every now and then he would glance back at Zelda, to make sure that she was still following him. A glance that she wouldn’t have noticed if she hadn’t been staring at him the entire time.</p>
<p class="p1">When she pushed away that hatred and jealousy, she realized that he was nothing more or less like her—she was merely a girl, and he was merely a boy. Both destined for something larger than their fragile bodies; bodies made of flesh and bone. Despite that, and despite her sharp tongue and fire-stringed words ever since they met, he didn’t hesitate to jump in front of her. She knew it was part of his job as her appointed knight but... the thought of him throwing himself into danger without a second thought both terrified and annoyed her.</p>
<p class="p1">But guilt, more than anything, creeped up into her heart as they made their way to the entrance.</p>
<hr/>
<p class="p1">They met Urbosa at the outskirts of the town, who immediately went to their aid the moment she was notified.</p>
<p class="p1">“I’m fine, they didn’t touch me—“ Zelda sighed as Urbosa checked her up and down, much like Link. At that point, she was just about ready to let them do what they wanted just so they could have a peace of mind.</p>
<p class="p1">“They better not have,” Urbosa growled, glaring out into the desert. “They’ve been coming here more frequently, you must be more careful,” she urged. Zelda nodded, hoping that it would suffice to show that she understood. She found that the longer she stayed here, the faster her energy seemed to drain from her, and at this point she just wanted to go back to the castle.</p>
<p class="p1">Link grabbed a map from his pocket, opening it up—a map of the desert. He circled the location that they were previously at and pointed off toward a location… into the mountains.</p>
<p class="p1">“I see…” Urbosa narrowed her eyes. “They ran off in that direction?”</p>
<p class="p1">Link nodded.</p>
<p class="p1">“This is more information than we’ve had previously, thank you, Link. At least we have some sense of where they could possibly be located now. You must’ve made them scurry off in fear if they all ran the same way.” This time, Urbosa observed the both of them in worry. “Are you sure you two don’t want to stay though? We can probably sneak in your little knight with a few disguises if need be.”</p>
<p class="p1">He turned his attention to Zelda, waiting, letting her decide.</p>
<p class="p1">“Oh!” Zelda shifted, stepping forward. “No, we’ll head back to the castle. I appreciate your concern though, Urbosa.” Zelda shook her head.</p>
<p class="p1">“Again, you must be more careful.” Urbosa sighed, rubbing Zelda’s shoulders comfortingly. Her smiles have always calmed Zelda down. “Let's hope we meet under better circumstances. I’ll send guards to escort you to the stables at least. They’ll be right behind you.”</p>
<hr/>
<p class="p1">Zelda gripped her notebook tightly in her hand, with Link once again taking lead. He hadn’t relaxed at all throughout the entirety they were there, and the tension only grew the further they trekked across the sand. She scribbled quickly in her notebook, jotting down her tumultuous thoughts before they escaped her. She would apologize, for being needlessly troublesome.</p>
<p class="p1">When would she apologize? That was an entirely different question she would have to deal with later.</p>
<p class="p1">Zelda tapped her pencil on the quill, considering her thoughts for a moment. Would her apology matter? She had been nothing but rude to him, for most of their interactions. He was simply doing his job in protecting her while she made that job all the more difficult for him. And he had no reason to—</p>
<p class="p1">Zelda almost bumped into him as Link held out the harness to her horse toward her, eyes hard; or maybe distracted. Distraction didn’t seem to fit him, though.</p>
<p class="p1">Concern?</p>
<p class="p1">“Oh! Um, thank you.” She stuffed her notebook into her pack, hoping her ‘thank you’ carried more weight than how it presented itself.</p>
<p class="p1">He merely nodded in affirmation, but she could see the slight tension between his brows soften.</p>
<p class="p1">The ride back was quiet, but she didn’t desire any sort of conversation this time to fill the empty silence. She sighed as the wind rustled through her hair, letting the last remnants of sand flutter away. It helped the fear from earlier also melt away from her.</p>
<p class="p1">She noticed that even on horseback, he still had the Master Sword out, drawn and ready to strike, as if he was simply waiting for the moment for another attack. His knuckles were white from gripping the hilt so tightly, she was sure that he was about to snap it off. It seemed as if he had forgotten how to relax.</p>
<p class="p1">As if he was simply waiting for the worst to happen.</p>
<p class="p1">Zelda frowned and urged her horse to go just a little bit faster, so that they were matching pace.</p>
<p class="p1">“Link,” Zelda started, trying to catch his attention. He looked at her in surprise and slowed down; Zelda followed suit.</p>
<p class="p1">“Link.” She said again, with more power this time. They had slowed to a trot. He held up a hand, signaling her to wait. Which was fine, because she was a bundle of nervous nerves. As she gathered her bearings, she noticed how he darted his eyes around, scanning the area around him. When he was finally satisfied with knowing nothing was going to jump out at them, he nodded at her.</p>
<p class="p1">“I’m sorry.” She blurted out, heat rushing to her cheeks. She, unfortunately, made eye contact with him the moment she had said it, and couldn’t find it in herself to tear her gaze away from those awfully blue eyes. She felt like if she did, her apology wouldn’t matter.</p>
<p class="p1">At least not for her.</p>
<p class="p1">“For everything.” She exhaled, her tense shoulders grew slack. “I went to Gerudo Town to avoid being with you, since I was tired of you following me everywhere, but that was selfish of me. I didn’t really consider how my actions would affect you, and it was quite immature of me.”</p>
<p class="p1">At this point, their horses had both stopped moving.</p>
<p class="p1">“I…” Now, she couldn’t help but glance down. Zelda chewed her lip, cursing herself. Now she couldn’t bring herself to look back up at him. “I hope you forgive me. I wish to make amends, if you can find it in your heart.”</p>
<p class="p1">Oh Goddesses, why did it sound like she was confessing to him? Although it wasn’t entirely off center, it <em>was</em> a confession of some sorts.</p>
<p class="p1">He didn’t say anything for a minute, which felt like an entire lifetime to her. Of course he wouldn’t so easily accept her apology—it was rather half baked and impulsive. She had a whole plan written out in her head and she was going to write it down but her quill had run out of ink and for some reason she felt compelled to just do it right then and there.</p>
<p class="p1">Zelda played with the harness in her hands. She could feel him just... <em>staring</em> at her. Zelda calmed her racing heart by thinking of the worst case scenario. He could simply say that he… didn’t accept it. That really was the worst thing, wasn’t it? Nothing would change.</p>
<p class="p1">
  <em>Nothing would change...</em>
</p>
<p class="p1">Her heart plummeted at the thought of it.</p>
<p class="p1">Then, his hand came into view—reaching for her.</p>
<p class="p1">Zelda hastily looked back up at him; it was hard to hide the hopeful gaze she had.</p>
<p class="p1">His hand was held out, palm up, staring at her with those mysterious blue eyes that she could never seem to decipher. Zelda held up her own hand, one eyebrow quirked up as she reached for his hand. She had no idea what she was doing, and if he wanted her to reach out, but she did whatever felt like instinct to her.</p>
<p class="p1">He was solemn in his actions, looking at her as serious as the day she announced him as her appointed knight.</p>
<p class="p1">Zelda hesitantly placed her hand on top of his, and he held it tightly, whole heartedly, accepting.</p>
<p class="p1">He squeezed her hand, brushed a thumb over her knuckles, then let go.</p>
<p class="p1">Her heart skipped a beat at his slight gestures, at the signals and signs that she had yet to completely understand. Her hand lingered in the air for a moment, cold after his hand left hers.</p>
<p class="p1">It was the first time she really understood what he was saying, even if it was only bits and pieces of what he was trying to convey to her.</p>
<p class="p1">Zelda drew her hand back to her chest, clenching it near her heart. She looked back up at him to find him smiling at her—a smile that did not quite reach his eyes, but it was a smile that was truly his.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks again for the kudos and comments! And yes, Urbosa is my favorite champion if it wasn't obvious hehe. I don't plan to add any more champions in this fic, although Mipha is mentioned a little in the next one! Subject to change tho if I decide to add more chapters (already added an additional 2 lmao). The next chapter is personally one of my favorites... it was so fun to write! I might double post this week. Thanks again for taking the time to read!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. thunderstorm</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Between Memory 5-7</p><p>Yay double post! Probably won't do it again since I'm still writing out the next chapter haha. I scrapped two other chapters in favor of this one and the next, since they felt quite bland... Hope you enjoy reading this!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">Zelda held up a weak hand as she battled to get air in her lungs, coughing. She struggled to stay on her legs as she bent over, a hand on her knee, almost wheezing at this point.</p><p class="p1">He placed a hand on her outstretched arm, gently tugging it to try and usher her forward. He looked at her with urgency, but Zelda found it physically impossible to continue.</p><p class="p1">“Just a second—I, the air is so thin up here it’s hard for me to catch my breath.” Zelda said in a raspy voice, gulping. “Or maybe, just go on ahead with me—“</p><p class="p1">Zelda let out an airy yelp when he swooped down and lifted her, tucking his arm under her knees with the other on her back. Zelda was too winded to really protest, and she actually did not mind the little break. An apology was at the tip of her tongue, but it disappeared once he began jogging, and her breath once again escaped her as he ascended. She tightened her grip around his neck as the cold, biting wind hit her face.</p><p class="p1">They were to meet with Mipha in Zora’s Domain, but it was Zelda’s idea to trek through the mountains as a little detour since she hadn’t really explored the mountains around, and it would’ve been the perfect opportunity.</p><p class="p1">But she may have overestimated her lung capacity. Just a little bit.</p><p class="p1">Something cold—colder than the wind—pelted her cheek, drawing her out of her thoughts; then another. Until an onslaught of tears dropped from the clouds above them, and Link almost slipped on mud as he made it under the rock shelter he was aiming for.</p><p class="p1">“Oh dear,” Zelda grumbled, thanking Link as he set her down on the ground. “The rain came out of no where…” They both gazed out into the pouring rain, loud and overbearing. She could hardly hear her own heartbeat against the thrum of the rain drops slamming against the rocks.</p><p class="p1">When she returned her attention to Link, he looked troubled. And it was probably her fault.</p><p class="p1">“I’m sorry for getting us into this mess,” Zelda smiled weakly at him. He looked at her thoughtfully and shook his head, a smile replacing his frown. “I guess it would’ve been better if we just stayed on the path. I’ll have to stop myself from being so insistent on taking spontaneous excursions during our duties.” Zelda exhaled, watching her puff of air evaporate into the rain.</p><p class="p1">“That’s how you find interesting things though,” Link mumbled under his breath.</p><p class="p1">Zelda blinked.</p><p class="p1">Link… mumbled something.</p><p class="p1">He said something?</p><p class="p1">Zelda whipped her head at him, eyes wide.</p><p class="p1">“Did you just speak?”</p><p class="p1">He startled at her loud voice, flinching.</p><p class="p1">Even when she apologized to him after the Yiga attack a couple months ago, he didn’t utter a word to her. Her face glowed with happiness as she took a step toward him, hands clasped together in front of her.</p><p class="p1">“Please, say something again!”</p><p class="p1">Link raised an eyebrow, straightening his posture once more. He opened his mouth, but closed it quickly, glancing up at the ceiling of the rock shelter. “Hi, I’m Link?” He offered with his small smile and an awkward wave of his hand.</p><p class="p1">His voice sounded rough, raspier than she thought. It was noticeable that he did not speak much, and it reflected in how hoarse his voice was. But for some reason, it spread warmth within her, to hear his voice after all this time.</p><p class="p1">Zelda could almost burst with happiness—she wasn’t sure why she was so delighted, but for some reason an overwhelming sense of accomplishment overrode her exhaustion, and she threw her hands up in the air between them, laughing.</p><p class="p1">“I never thought I’d see the day where you’d speak!” Zelda exclaimed, her voice echoing around them. She knew he simply decided not to talk—she heard him sort of speak once before, with his father, but he was so quiet she wasn’t sure if she just imagined it. She knew all the secret areas of the castle during the time she kept trying to hide from Link and had snuck up on them speaking in one of her old hiding spots.</p><p class="p1">“I’m so glad! I mean, I’ve been trying to get you to talk to me for quite a bit now. I want you to feel comfortable, since you’re stuck with me afterall.” Zelda blushed at her forwardness and cleared her throat, taking a step back from him. She averted her gaze, switching back to her usual, composed self. “A-Anyway, I’m glad. That… that you are okay with speaking. Around me. More comfortable, I mean.” She hoped her sudden, odd excitement didn’t scare him out of it.</p><p class="p1">She peeked at him when he didn’t say anything, and he simply stared at her as if he was trying to hold in his laughter. Zelda pursed her lips, crossing her arms over her chest. Embarrassment slapped her cheeks as she let out a huff. They stood there in silence for a bit, watching the endless rain fall down.</p><p class="p1">“Hungry?”</p><p class="p1">His voice startled her out of her daydreams. He held out something wrapped in a piece of cloth.</p><p class="p1">“Oh, thank you.” She accepted it gratefully, peeking into it. It wasn’t much—baked apples, but it made her stomach grumble all the same. Right when she opened it up, Link was quick to snatch one, gobbling it in practically three whole bites.</p><p class="p1">“Save some for the rest of us won’t you?” Zelda took a small bite out of her own. He was always a quick eater; she would watch him golf down whole meals by the time she was barely half done with hers.</p><p class="p1">As she ate slowly, Link laid out a blanket he had down on the ground behind her. When she looked back at him quizically, he patted it, motioning for her to sit down.</p><p class="p1">“You’ve got mud all over it now,” Zelda frowned. “You didn’t have to do that.”</p><p class="p1">He stared at her, waiting. Zelda sighed and took a seat, making sure her muddy boots didn’t touch it at least. With a grunt he stood back up and stepped closer to the opening of the little shelter. He lifted his arms over his head.</p><p class="p1">“Are you going somewhere?”</p><p class="p1">Her voice paused his movements. He turned around and nodded. Zelda held out her hand in an attempt to stop him, but he held up a finger and smiled before jogging out into the rain.</p><p class="p1">“What could he possibly be doing out there in the rain?” Zelda mumbled, finishing the second to last of the baked apples. She wrapped the remaining one up, opting to save it for Link when he was back.</p><p class="p1">She leaned back against her arms, waiting. Watching the rain. It was slamming against everything hard enough that it had started up a mist, to the point where she could hardly see anything.</p><p class="p1">After some time, she scooted closer to the edge of the blanket, so she could draw her knees up to her chest without her boots touching the blanket, and hugged herself for warmth. She hummed to pass time as she closed her eyes, tapping her toes to the rhythm of a lullaby that her mother would sing to her whenever Zelda was feeling tense and troubled.</p><p class="p1">It didn’t sound as elegant as how her mother had hummed it, but it lulled Zelda into a sense of security. For a brief moment, for once in a long time, she felt okay.</p><p class="p1">Thunder jolted her from her short-lived peacefulness as it struck a tree right over the cliff in front of her, leaving it fresh in flames before the pelting rain sizzled it out.</p><p class="p1">Any warmth she had conjured up immediately evaporated as her heart dropped to her stomach.</p><p class="p1">“Link!” Zelda scrambled up, shouting into the rain. Her cries were drowned out by the rumbling in the sky. “Link! Where are you?”</p><p class="p1">Zelda cursed under her breath, pacing the entrance of the shelter as she racked her brain for… for an idea, for something. It would be soundlessly idiotic to go and try to search for him in a rainstorm—a thunderstorm at that now. What use would she be if he found her fried?</p><p class="p1">But she also didn’t want to simply sit and wait like a sitting duck, but what could she do if she even went out?</p><p class="p1">Zelda let out a groan of frustration—why did he even go out in the <em>first </em>place?</p><p class="p1">She jumped in her skin as another roll of thunder shook the ground, and she grabbed onto the walls of the rock shelter to stabilize herself. She let out a string of curses as she gripped her hands together, trying to stop herself from shaking.</p><p class="p1">Her ears perked up when she heard something out in the rain—tapping, some kind of.. loud pattering, heavier than how the rain sounded.</p><p class="p1">She squinted out in the rain, leaning.</p><p class="p1">Then she saw him, looking frazzled and unlike his usual composed self, sprinting toward her general direction, but his eyes looked lost as he frantically looked around. His arms were full with bundles of—</p><p class="p1">Of… korok leaves?</p><p class="p1">“Link!” Zelda waved her arms, screaming his name until he finally looked at her. His eyes widened as he noticed her and barreled right at her.</p><p class="p1">Zelda jumped out of the way as he lunged into the shelter, right before another thunder strike slammed against the ground mere seconds where he was.</p><p class="p1">The korok leaves had splattered all over the muddy ground, with Link landing face first. Luckily enough, his face had landed conveniently on the blanket. But the rest of his body…</p><p class="p1">Zelda stared down at her outfit, watching the mud that he had splattered in his grand lunge, drip down onto the ground.</p><p class="p1">He made a noise when he lifted his head, a sound of exasperation that she’s never heard before.</p><p class="p1">Her attempted laugh simply sounded like her teeth were clattering against one another.</p><p class="p1">As he got his bearings, he immediately looked up at her, hefting himself on his feet quickly as he stared at her with wide eyes.</p><p class="p1">“Sorry!” He said. He seemed overwhelmed, as if his mind and body hadn’t really caught up to speed with one another yet.</p><p class="p1">“So you were off.. c-collecting… leaves?” Zelda averted her gaze down to the mess scattered on the ground.</p><p class="p1">He glanced down at the pile, then back at her, then back down, as he waved his hands in an attempt to explain, but it seemed as if his words were stuck in his throat. Panic rose in his eyes as he tried his hardest to get the dirt off of her clothes.</p><p class="p1">Zelda waved him off, laughing a little at his actions. “It’s fine! I can just wash it out, it’s not a big deal.” She smiled warmly at him as he nodded, staring at her feet. Was he actually embarrassed for once? She felt a little smug that the tables had turned. “Well…” Zelda sighed out, placing a finger on her chin, tapping, as if she was in deep thought. When she glanced at him, his tenseness caused her to burst out into a fit of laughter.</p><p class="p1">“I-I’m sorry, I was about to tease you, but now I feel too bad!” Zelda continued to giggle as she bent down to pick up the leaves. “Anyway, what were these for?”</p><p class="p1">Link bent down too, collecting them as well. “Something to cover our heads with…” He let out a sigh. She felt a little bad at how disappointed he seemed.</p><p class="p1">“To cover our heads with?”</p><p class="p1">He nodded, holding out his arms. Zelda placed her own stack of collected korok leaves onto his. He set it down on the blanket, straightening them out. “I was going to make a korok cover so we could get out of this rain, and then…” He gestured toward the sky with a wave of his hand.</p><p class="p1">“How do you make a cover out of <em>korok leaves</em>?” Zelda bent down next to him, her chin resting in the palm of her hand as she looked down at the pile with curiosity.</p><p class="p1">“Well, like this—“ Link began twisting and bending the leaves, working fast and diligently. He stuck out his tongue a little to the side in concentration—a quirk she hadn’t noticed before, and watched as his fingers nimbly worked around.</p><p class="p1">After what felt like only a second, the korok leaves had twisted together to form some sort of makeshift cover—big enough for the both of them to stand under.</p><p class="p1">Link held his hands out toward it, as if to say <em>tada! </em>He looked at her expectantly, obviously proud of his creation.</p><p class="p1">“Where did you even learn this?” Zelda exclaimed, touching the various stems bound together. He was able to combine them to create a sturdy handle, to hold up the weight of the leaves.</p><p class="p1">“With my mom, when we were lost in the forest.” His eyes warmed as he answered, as if he was peeking into a distant memory.</p><p class="p1">“With your mom?” Zelda echoed.</p><p class="p1">He nodded, his eyes a little sad. Zelda didn’t push forward on the topic; she didn’t want to accidentally bring up any painful memories.</p><p class="p1">“Well,” Zelda said, patting away the dried mud from her palms as she stood up. She shivered as a light breeze wafted into the shelter. “Too bad we can’t make use of your cover, not with the thunderstorm at least.”</p><p class="p1">“I think it’ll end soon,” Link stood next to her, peeking out just a little. He unhooked the various leather belts attached on him and shimmied out of his Champion’s tunic, handing it to her. “It’s dirty, but it’ll keep you a little warmer.”</p><p class="p1">She stared at the tunic, then at his collarbone, and how it dipped—</p><p class="p1">“No, no. It’s fine, I’m okay.” Zelda looked away quickly, staring straight ahead. But he continued to stand there with his arm outstretched. His silent way of saying that he was going to hold it out until she accepted it. Zelda sighed and gratefully took it, muttering a quiet thank you.</p><p class="p1">It smelled like him, a smell she could only compare to the word comfort, with a mix of grass and dirt; like the forest. All the things she liked bundled up into one tunic, and her heart swelled.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>First time I died from a thunderstorm was on my way to Zora's Domain and I had like. 3 hearts only LOL ;-; Kind of hard to figure out how I want to write Link since he's such a clean slate in the game, but tryin' my best!! Also thought this was like... a lot longer but now that I transferred it to ao3 it doesn't look that long asfougnjksd. Anyway thanks, as always, for taking the time to read!</p><p>Also if anyone's interested, I have a twitter @_Syilca and a tumblr @syilcawrites !</p><p>Have a wonderful week, I hope Tuesday does you well!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. dagger</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Between Memory 5-7</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">Link blinked, still breathing heavily from practicing his swordsmanship for the past couple hours. He seemed unsure of what to do with her request. But she remained adamant, making sure that her back was straight with eyes as unwavering as her determination.</p><p class="p1">“You want to learn how to use a weapon?” He looked her up and down—she was already wearing one of the training shirts that the soldiers typically wore, along with some plain trousers. Her hair was tied up and away from her face. “How’d you even get those clothes?” He asked, pointing.</p><p class="p1">“What?” Zelda asked, looked down at herself. “I, um—That’s something I do not have to tell you.” She huffed out, assuming her power pose once more. “Onto more pressing matters, I am sure that you won’t always be there when I… need someone.” Zelda brushed aside the Yiga memory before it could completely resurface. The event still chilled her to the bone, and she didn’t need a nasty reminder of how close to death she was. “I think it’s best if I know how to defend myself, even if it’s a small weapon.”</p><p class="p1">“I’ll always be by your side. I’m your sword and shield.” Link said quickly, frowning. “I’ll continue to practice if you think my skills are inadequate—“</p><p class="p1">“Link, of course not! That’s not what I’m saying.” Zelda exhaled, raising her hand to stop him from speaking further. “You’re far more capable than you think, which is exactly why I’m asking you to teach me.”</p><p class="p1">Link toyed with the practice sword in his hand, considering it with hesitant eyes. “What did the King say?”</p><p class="p1">Zelda lifted her chin and darted her eyes toward the Sanctum.</p><p class="p1">“I don’t need to tell my father what I do with my time outside of obtaining the sealing power. Besides, I’m sure he would agree. With the rise of monster attacks, I can ease some burden from you if I knew how to defend myself at the very least.”</p><p class="p1">Link still seemed unsure, but she kept her gaze firm. After a moment, he nodded.</p><p class="p1">“Yes!” Zelda pumped a fist in the air, but immediately withdrew it and clasped her arms behind her back, clearing her throat once she noticed several of the other guards staring at her. “V-Very well then. When shall I begin my lesson?”</p><p class="p1">He looked amused, and Zelda felt heat creeping up her cheeks.</p><p class="p1">“We can start now, if you want to.” He wiped the back of his hands across his forehead to get rid of excess sweat. “Just finished training for today.”</p><p class="p1">“Oh wonderful!” Zelda clasped her hands together in excitement. Her eyes sparkled with motivation. “Will you give me a one-handed sword? Or—oh! How about a two-handed sword? I’ve always wanted to know how to swing one!”</p><p class="p1">Link snorted, lifting a hand to cover his mouth. “Zelda with a two-handed sword?” he muttered under his breath, laughing at the mere thought of it.</p><p class="p1">“I’m much stronger than I look!” Zelda protested. She was sure her face was as red as a tomato now. “Don’t laugh!”</p><p class="p1">Link still had a silly smile on his face as patted around his hips, searching for something. When his hands landed on the handle of one of the various weapons adorning the belt he had around him, he pulled it out and gave it to her.</p><p class="p1">It was a dagger, small enough that she wouldn’t have to worry about its weight, but long and sharp enough for it to do some hefty damage.</p><p class="p1">“Let’s… start a bit smaller first so you don’t cut off any fingers. You can keep this afterwards.” he said, handing it to her. He walked toward the weapon rack for a similar weapon.</p><p class="p1">“Oh—are you sure? Isn’t it yours?” Zelda examined it, testing the weight of it in her inexperienced hand. It felt foreign and dangerous—she was unsure of what to make of the feeling.</p><p class="p1">He shrugged when he came over, wielding a different type of dagger. “It’s in more useful hands now.”</p><p class="p1">“Alright, if you say so,” She trailed off. “Thank you.” Zelda continued to carefully examine it as Link led her to a couple of straw dummies.</p><p class="p1">He gestured toward them with his free hand, inviting her.</p><p class="p1">To stab it?</p><p class="p1">Zelda looked at him quizzically.</p><p class="p1">“I just want to see how you naturally move first.” He explained.</p><p class="p1">Oh.</p><p class="p1">Zelda gulped. She could already feel how clumsy she would be just by holding it.</p><p class="p1">“Well don’t expect anything extraordinary,” she mumbled, mostly to herself. Sure, she had the Goddess’ blood running in her. All of her past incarnations must’ve fought in some sort of battle, but she hadn’t gotten a lick of their skill in this lifetime, apparently.</p><p class="p1">“It’s okay, just do what feels natural.” Link encouraged.</p><p class="p1">He gave her a thumbs up.</p><p class="p1">Zelda let out a humorless laugh.</p><p class="p1">She braced herself as she darted forward, giving it a few jabs here and there. It felt exhilarating—she had never done anything similar prior, and she felt, for once, some sort of strength that had consistently slipped from her grasp countless of times.</p><p class="p1">“Your stance is good, but it’s stiff.“ His voice changed from the kind, patient tone it usually took on to a more formal tone; sharp and focused. It wasn’t unkind, but it was something she wasn’t familiar with. “Twist your hip a little.”</p><p class="p1">“Like this…?” Zelda flipped and turned, unsure. He planted his hands on her hips and turned it just a bit.</p><p class="p1">Zelda jumped as goosebumps rose all over her skin. She almost dropped the dagger in response, startled by his sudden closeness. He jerked his hands back immediately after.</p><p class="p1">“Sorry,” he said, wiping his palms down his pants. “I’m kind of sweaty from practicing all day so I shouldn’t touch you—“</p><p class="p1">“Why are you apologizing?” Zelda exclaimed, speaking quickly. “I’m going to be sweaty anyway. Just teach me how you would teach anyone else.” She silently begged that he would simply say ‘okay’ and move on, because if they didn’t continue and simply dwelled on what just happened she was sure she would combust on the spot from embarrassment.</p><p class="p1">“Okay, if that’s what you want.” He said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. “Alright, watch my stance. Do it like this,” he said, moving slow enough for her to see his movements.</p><p class="p1">He then asked her to try again.</p><p class="p1">And again.</p><p class="p1">And again.</p><p class="p1">Until she was a heap of sweat and heat.</p><p class="p1">“Princess,” Link exasperated, laughing.</p><p class="p1">“Link,” Zelda exasperated back, breathing heavily. “I don’t know why but my wrist keeps twisting at the end!” She let out a frustrated sound.</p><p class="p1">“Are you trying to gut your enemy?” Link asked teasingly, reaching for her wrist for the hundredth time. “You’ve got to keep it straight or else the impact won’t be as powerful. You’re going to exert your energy into the wrong motion with that twist you keep doing at the end.”</p><p class="p1">“I don’t know why I keep doing that!” Zelda said, almost whining. She rolled her shoulders, stretching her arms a little.</p><p class="p1">“Do you want a break?” His voice edged onto the soft side, the one he typically used with her.</p><p class="p1">She shook her head, shifting her weight from one foot to the other as she pumped herself up. “I’ve got to at least learn how to stab correctly. I don’t want your time training me to be fruitless.” Zelda once again gripped the dagger tightly, licking her dry lips.</p><p class="p1">After the sun was long gone did she finally refrain herself from doing her weird motion. At that point, all the guards had retired to their quarters, leaving just the two of them to bask in her victory.</p><p class="p1">“Not bad for a researcher,” he stated, bringing her a cup of water.</p><p class="p1">“Oh, why thank you.” Zelda accepted the drink gratefully and hungrily drank the water in two large gulps. “I can see how doing this can be releasing.” She sighed, placing the cup down before plopping onto her back, falling into the grass. She stared at the starry sky above them, realizing how different it looked from the ground in comparison to staring at the sky outside of the window in her study tower. He sat next to her, leaning back on his arms and stared up at the sky with her. Zelda closed her eyes in contempt, taking the time to concentrate on her breathing as she cooled off.</p><p class="p1">“Where did you live?” Zelda asked, her eyes still closed.</p><p class="p1">He hummed a little before responding. “Hateno.”</p><p class="p1">She opened her eyes and looked up at him. He was still looking up at the stars. “Do you miss it there? That’s quite a ways off from here.”</p><p class="p1">He hesitated before nodding. “But I also like being here.”</p><p class="p1">They laid in comfortable silence for a while after that—Zelda was on the edge of dozing off when his voice woke her up.</p><p class="p1">“Did you want to visit?” He looked down at her now, but it was hard to see his expression with the shadows casting over his face.</p><p class="p1">Zelda rubbed her eyes as she lifted herself up on her elbows, yawning. “Would that be okay?”</p><p class="p1">He stood up, offering a hand to her. She gratefully accepted it and they lingered there for a moment, just holding hands.</p><p class="p1">“It’s been a while since I’ve visited, and it’ll only be for a day. Probably this coming week.” His smile shifted to a frown as he dwelled on the thought. “Wait, the King probably wouldn’t—“</p><p class="p1">“I want to come.” Zelda insisted, squeezing his hand. “It’s good for me to know how the townsfolk are faring, after all.” She added in for good measure.</p><p class="p1">“But your praying—“</p><p class="p1">“—Isn’t scheduled until two weeks time. I’ve always wanted to visit Hateno anyway, since I’ve heard that they’re quite known for their dyes. I have some garments that I’ve stitched up that need to be colored anyway.” Zelda smiled brightly at the prospect of venturing out of castle grounds. She always welcomed it and he knew.</p><p class="p1">“Okay,” he said, smiling with a tilt of his head. “I think you’ll like it. There’s a lot of good people living there.” He let go of her hand, and her fingers twitched to grab it again. She rubbed her hands together frowning. She crossed her arms to fill in the warmth that was once there.</p><p class="p1">“That sounds delightful.” She stepped off of the grass, pointing to the gate. “It’s about time that we retire, isn’t it?” Zelda said curtly, briskly walking past him. She didn’t wait for him to catch up, but she knew he was following behind her.</p><p class="p1">She pushed back her desire, stomping on it, hoping it would extinguish. It was a momentarily slip up, she told herself. Just a little slip up.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Okay I know I said last chapter was my fav to write b u t I really loved writing the next couple chapters too (': Writing this also makes me really sad because we all know how the ending goes sobs. Anyway, thanks a lot for all the kudos and comments! It makes me really happy that I can make even one person happy ;-; Thanks again for sticking with me, and I hope you have a good week!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. people watching</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Between Memory 7-9</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">Zelda swung her legs as she sat snuggly inside a tree that faced Castletown, hiding from her citizens. She watched them roam about their day, unaware of her presence, as she observed them curiously. This had been a habit of hers since she was young, and it was a nice break in between praying and studying Sheikah technology.</p><p class="p1">She quickly shoved the last of her candied apples into her mouth and scrambled for her quill as a group of little kids appeared around the corner, running and scrambling and laughing.</p><p class="p1">
  <em>It seems that the citizens of Castletown are quite close to one another, as many of the children that I have seen roaming about are doing so unsupervised. This is pleasantly surprising considering how many outsiders come in and out frequently, but I’m glad to see such safety present in our beloved, bustling town.</em>
</p><p class="p1">Zelda brought a leg up to her chest as she tried to keep the ruffle of her dress down in the process. She would’ve changed into her field attire if it wasn’t for the fact that she wasn’t supposed to leave the castle without some sort of escort in the first place.</p><p class="p1">She leaned against the trunk of the tree, watching them play tag for a little. She could already hear her father’s reprimanding tone regarding her boorish posture, but that was the beauty in hiding—she could do whatever she wanted to do, and she desperately needed this. She shook her head at the thought of her father, letting thoughts of him fall out in the process. The last thing she wanted to do was to mull over her relationship with him when she finally had some time to herself. With a sigh, she tapped the feather of her quill on her knee as she absentmindedly flipped through the pages of her notebook, mostly paying attention to the noisy, boisterous children.</p><p class="p1">The longer she watched them, the more uncomfortable she became—it was a sensation she was all too familiar with. Zelda scolded herself as she nipped away a bud of jealousy that had begun to form within her. She wanted to run around in the grass, laughing carefree and wholly. She thought she had dashed away such desires, but watching others do so seemed to resurface those bygone dreams.</p><p class="p1">As they rounded another corner, disappearing from view, her attention drifted to a bakery a bit further down the road. Zelda brought her ink bottle up and dabbed the tip of the quill into it before going back to her notebook.</p><p class="p1">
  <em>The bakery near the east gate always has delicious bread and pastries available—I’ve always wanted to try some, but I would have to disguise myself. I’m not sure if I will have time…</em>
</p><p class="p1">She looked up thoughtfully, watching the leaves sway in the wind, as she tried to scourge up some plans to sneak into Castletown on her own. The last time Zelda tried venturing in, she had taken escorts, and the experience resembled the taste of watered down fruit juice. The escorts took every single thing she tried to eat out of her hands and tasted it themselves first before letting her have a bite out of it. Eating a meal that was already bitten out of wasn’t quite the same and made the experience quite… unenjoyable to say the least.</p><p class="p1">Zelda sniffed the air—fresh bread. Her stomach growled as she rapidly wrote down her thoughts.</p><p class="p1">
  <em>The owner must wake up before the sun even rises to prepare his dough for it to look as scrumptious as it usually does! I cannot wait to see what types of pastries he’s made this week. Two months ago, the last time I was able to take a breath outside of the castle on my own, he had a set of specific assortments. Maybe now, he’ll spruce up the variety that he offers. Will he have more pastries this time around? Does he work alone? It must take hours preparing as much delicacies as he does.</em>
</p><p class="p1">Zelda tapped her notebook carefully as her thoughts drifted to Link. He would eat almost anything, and he probably had already tried every single meal that Castletown had to offer at this point.</p><p class="p1">She perked up when she saw the bakery owner walk out with a steel plate full of various pastries and breads—from fish pie to plain wheat bread—and all of it looked as delicious as one would expect. She chewed at her bottom lip as she quickly sketched the tray of goods in his hands. Luckily for her, he was setting it down outside on a table to organize it.</p><p class="p1">Zelda’s eyebrows knitted together in concentration, her hands trying to get down the perfect line and stroke. If she had the Sheikah Slate with her, she could’ve taken a picture, but Impa had asked for it before Zelda decided to go on her rendezvous.</p><p class="p1">Regardless, her drawings outside of Sheikah technology never ended up the way she wanted them to. She found sketching ancient ruins and tech much more linear and… ironically, more simplified compared to sketching the daily wonders of life itself, which always seemed to prove difficult for her.</p><p class="p1">“Oh fish pie, one day you will soon find your home inside my stomach,” Zelda sighed out wistfully at her drawing, hugging it close to her face.</p><p class="p1">She lowered her notebook to see if anything else particularly stuck out, but instead found herself face to face with bright blue eyes. She squealed in surprise and scrambled in her spot, almost falling off the tree. Link released one of his hands that grasped the tree branch hanging above her to catch her by her shoulder before she could fall off.</p><p class="p1">“Link, you almost scared the Goddess out of me!” Zelda hissed as she composed herself, going back to her snug spot nestled in the tree. She looked him up and down, raising an eyebrow. “When did you even—how did you even get up there?” she asked, her heart still racing in her chest. He looked a little funny just hanging around in front of her, but she was also concerned that the branch would snap off if he hung there any longer.</p><p class="p1">“I climbed,” he stated simply. He began swinging to a branch on her left, and she lightly hit his shoulder when he swung by.</p><p class="p1">“Don’t make too much noise or they’ll hear us!” She hissed again. He landed quietly on it, crouching. The branch was thicker and closer to the trunk, easily supporting his weight.</p><p class="p1">He cupped his hands over his mouth. “What are you doing up here?” He half whispered back, but it was still much louder than she would’ve liked.</p><p class="p1">She brought a stiff finger to her lips, darting her eyes over to the citizens, but they continued to obliviously go about their day.</p><p class="p1">“I’m simply…” Zelda waved her hand toward the people. “Observing my people. Sometimes I like to people watch.” She whispered, shrugging. She had been doing this since she was a young girl. Although she certainly stopped coming here as frequently as before, sometimes it was nice to just… watch others go about their day. To be an invisible spectator. It was something that she hadn’t experienced much in her own day to day life, where everyone was constantly watching her every move.</p><p class="p1">And she was still feeling a bit glum about being unable to accompany Link back to Hateno, so she sought refuge away from everyone else in order to feel sorry for herself in solitude. After her father had found out she was planning to visit Hateno with him, he had explained his disappointment in her for even considering such a thing.</p><p class="p1">“There are enough rumors about you already, do you plan to add more by accompanying your knight attendant, alone, to his hometown?” He had told her, shaking his head.</p><p class="p1">Zelda was confused, because they had traveled alone together before, but any word to defend herself simply went in one ear and out the other whenever it came to communicating with her father. She wasn’t sure what was worse though—hearing him explain how unacceptable and foolish it was of her to consider such an activity or the fact that Link remained quiet for the remainder of the week afterwards.</p><p class="p1">He didn’t tell her when he left for Hateno, and she saw him ride away across the grassy plains early yesterday morning from her study tower. She was glad that he was able to visit his family without any setbacks, if anything.</p><p class="p1">“When did you get back?” Zelda asked him, still scribbling away at her notebook. She was almost done with the last batch of pastries, and the baker was beginning to bring them all back into the building to put them on display.</p><p class="p1">“Just now.”</p><p class="p1">She heard him shuffling around—he did have a satchel around him when she saw him. It was probably food, knowing him.</p><p class="p1">
  <em>I’ve also feel inclined to mention that the baker seems to have two children, both quite young, but I have never seen the baker embrace another adult. Perhaps his significant other is ill, or—</em>
</p><p class="p1">Zelda stopped writing, letting the sentence drop off where it was. She used to create scores of stories for random citizens she saw, but for some reason, she found it to be rude the more she thought about it.</p><p class="p1">Link tapped her shoulder, and she withdrew herself from her notebook.</p><p class="p1">“I brought these for you,” he stated, shoving a couple of jars filled with a milky liquid color at her. His voice had a sound of excitement that she was surprised to hear.</p><p class="p1">“Oh—“ Zelda struggled to juggle holding her notebook, ink, quill, and the bottles all at once, but Link was too busy pulling the bag over his shoulder to notice.</p><p class="p1">“I’m not sure what colors you wanted so I just picked up a bunch of bright flowers and rocks…some monster parts too.” He flipped the flap open, and she saw various colorful materials neatly stacked and labeled. There were fleet-lotus seeds, nightshade flowers, rock salts; there were even some moblin guts in a jar.</p><p class="p1">“What’s all this for?” Zelda asked, blinking.</p><p class="p1">“You said you needed to dye some clothes right?” Link asked, tilting his head. He looked down at her lap and noticed all of the stuff piled on top. “Sorry, your hands are already full.” He frowned and reached over for the jars, stuffing them back into the satchel.</p><p class="p1">“Oh Link,” Zelda laughed lightly, her heart felt full against her chest. “You didn’t have to go out of your way to get all of this.”</p><p class="p1">“You sew a lot, and Hateno’s dyes are really good.” Link pulled something out of the pocket inside of the satchel—a piece of paper. “The owner of the dye shop told me a list of materials that make really strong colors, in case you’re interested. Just let me know if you want anything and I can get it.”</p><p class="p1">Zelda’s tongue caught in her throat and she didn’t know what to say. For some reason, it felt overwhelming and her cheeks hurt from smiling.</p><p class="p1">“That’s awfully sweet of you,” Zelda said, accepting the piece of paper. “Did you draw this?” She held up the list, waving it a little.</p><p class="p1">Link hummed, nodding his head.</p><p class="p1">Her smile widened as she rifled through the list—the drawings were simple and crudely colored, but they were carefully considered.</p><p class="p1">“Thank you Link.” She hugged the paper to her chest. “I’ll keep this close to my heart.” Zelda hummed happily as she shifted through the objects that Link still held out to her, his arms stiff. She looked up quizzically when she didn’t hear a response from him, and froze. He was staring at her, his cheeks tinted a warm red—and now <em>she</em> was blushing because <em>he</em> was. She looked back down at her journal.</p><p class="p1">“Anyway, h-how did you even know I was up here?” Zelda said, her hands fumbling as she tried to be quick, but careful not to crumple the papers, as she shoved the list into her notebook. “I know that no one can see me from town.” She was too far from the castle for anyone to see her with the naked eye.</p><p class="p1">He let out a quick exhale, as if he was relieved she had changed the topic. “I asked Impa,” he jabbed his thumb behind him, back toward the castle. “Apparently she’s been watching you with the Sheikah Slate since you left.”</p><p class="p1">Zelda raised her head, peering past Link’s shoulder. “And to think I could avoid the gaze of the castle,” she mumbled. If she was alone, she would’ve stuck out her tongue and hoped Impa would’ve caught it. She was constantly watching out for her. Sometimes Zelda wondered if she ever slept. She was hoping at least one of her hiding spots would remain safe, but apparently that was too much to ask for. Feeling exposed, Zelda let out a small, frustrated sigh.</p><p class="p1">“Shall we head back then?” she asked stiffly, already moving herself from her position. She hoped that the various flora and shrubs would block her from anyone’s sight. Link looked at her curiously, but began to climb down as well.</p><p class="p1">“Is something bothering you?” Link asked as Zelda patted down her skirt, making sure it was free of dirt.</p><p class="p1">“I’ve been up there before the sun rose up, so I’m just feeling a little winded down.” Zelda tried to keep her voice light, but she knew it came out strained instead. She flipped through her notebook quickly, ensuring that everything was still in its place.</p><p class="p1">“Nothing else is wrong?” Link pressed again.</p><p class="p1">“What isn’t wrong?” Zelda huffed out, shutting it with both of her hands a bit more forcefully than she intended. She stood there for a moment before letting out another small sigh. “I apologize. I’m not angry… just frustrated." She stared up blankly at the castle. "I simply want to unlock my sealing powers,” she admitted tiredly.</p><p class="p1">She turned to face him when she felt his hand press against the top of her head. He drew his hand back with a small cherry blossom flower in between his fingers. He twirled it a little by the stem, looking at it thoughtfully.</p><p class="p1">“Just know that you’re not alone,” he said quietly. Zelda smiled at him, but it did not linger for long. Even though she knew he meant it, it couldn’t erase the sense of loneliness that was ever-present in her life. She followed his movements as he looked up to the sky, raising his hand, about to release the little flower into the wind.</p><p class="p1">“Wait—“ Zelda held out her hand, staring longingly at the flower pinched between his fingers. “May I?”</p><p class="p1">He placed it in her palm, and Zelda watched the petals flutter lightly against the gentle breeze. She softened at the sight of it and glanced at Link.</p><p class="p1">“It’s just for research.” She declared swiftly, when she saw him eyeing her with an unreadable expression.</p><p class="p1">“Using a cherry blossom?” Link asked. The corners of his mouth twitched, as if he was trying to keep a laugh at bay.</p><p class="p1">“Yes!” Zelda insisted, drawing her hand back to her chest. “Just for research,” she quietly said. She glanced down to make sure the little flower was still safely in her palm before she turned around so he couldn’t see what she was doing. She tucked the flower into an empty page, pressing her notebook shut firmly and tightly to ensure that it wouldn’t slip out.</p><p class="p1">She told herself that she always pressed flowers and all sorts of vegetation for documentation. This wasn’t any different.</p><p class="p1">“On a more important note,” she started, mostly to remind herself, “I want to get the Sheikah Slate back from Impa. I still have a multitude of tests to run through with it, and there’s a shrine that I want to visit with Robbie and Purah before we head to the Spring of Courage.” It was going to be one of the last shrines she would be able to visit in months, and she wanted to get the most out of it before then.</p><p class="p1">Zelda raised an eyebrow when she noticed his eyes flit to the left, which was a habit of his when he was thinking.</p><p class="p1">“Thinking about something?” she inquired curiously.</p><p class="p1">He parted his lips slightly, but just as quick they sealed back together and he shook his head. Zelda narrowed her eyes.</p><p class="p1">“Come on, tell me?” she asked, poking his chest. “You can’t just not tell me after looking so thoughtful!”</p><p class="p1">He smiled at her—but it was a smile filled with mischief.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Again, thanks for reading! Hope you all enjoyed the chapter :3c. I've swapped out ideas for chapters 5-8 at least like... three times while writing this short series out LOL. I kept messing with this chapter but sometimes u just gotta know when to stop aofhugsdkj. Anyway, they weren't initially what I planned, but I'm glad that they came out the way they did!</p><p>Also, if you haven't checked it out yet, I just posted a one-shot yesterday called "flickering" that's loosely related off of this chapter if you're interested, heh. </p><p>Have a good week everyone!!! If you're tired, know that I shall send you my energy!! Just remember that with each passing week we get closer to Age of Calamity too hehe. See you all again next Tuesday xoxo</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. sweet summer sea</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Between Memory 9-10</p><p>Obligatory beach episode :~)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">She stared in awe at the view in front of her—the sun was at its highest point, and the swaying sea water reflected its illumination, casting a glowing shimmer over it. They were situated in a small gulf of water, with high cliffs on either side of them.</p><p class="p1">It had been a long time since Zelda stepped foot in sand, and the feeling of it under her toes reminded her that she was here, in the present.</p><p class="p1">“Breathtaking,” she exhaled as her eyes shifted from the sea to the sky. A gust of wind rushed toward them, lifting her ceremonial dress to reveal the waterproof one piece suit she had worn underneath. Zelda dropped her sandals from her hand and pressed her dress down, face red, and darted her eyes over to Link. He was conveniently crouched down, observing a seashell.</p><p class="p1">“Well, this is absolutely stunning,” Zelda declared, poking his thigh with her big toe. He jumped at her touch, startled.</p><p class="p1">“Uh, yeah! I thought you’d like it here. My family used to visit the beaches near Lurelin sometimes, since the water is really warm.” He snuck a glance at her. “This is between Aris Beach and Clarnet Coast. It’s a secret spot though, so don’t tell anyone.” He brought a finger to his lips, smiling cheekily at her.</p><p class="p1">“Your secret is safe with me,” Zelda said, laughing. She always found his smiles contagious. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been near Lurelin…” She had went once, with her parents. When her mother was still alive.</p><p class="p1">“You ready?” The sound of his voice prompted her to look over at him. He stood up and proceeded to take off his Champion’s tunic in one swift pull over his head. Her fingers twitched as she watched the muscles on his back move—she wanted to trace her fingers along them, but decided to be courteous instead and looked away.</p><p class="p1">“Ready for what exactly?” she asked, quirking an eyebrow up.</p><p class="p1">“We’re going in the water,” he declared. When she looked back at him, his trousers were replaced with shorts, and he faced the waves with his hands on his hips.</p><p class="p1">“<em>We</em> are?” Zelda asked, pointing at herself. He nodded enthusiastically, his blue eyes sparkling with happiness. Zelda frowned, glaring at the rippling water. She felt conflicted—the reason why she avoided the beach for so long was due to her growing dislike for water. But when she glanced back over to Link, his encouraging smile was hard to say no to.</p><p class="p1">“Well, maybe a little dip will be refreshing,” Zelda murmured in agreement, beginning to slip out of her ceremonial dress. She paused, halfway through pulling it off as she narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you going to watch me undress?”</p><p class="p1">He looked away, cheeks red. Zelda chuckled to herself at his amusing response. She neatly folded it and placed it next to a palm tree, then placed her sandals snuggly beside it.</p><p class="p1">Another gust of wind made her hair fly all over her face—one of the many downsides of having long hair was having to constantly tame it. Zelda had contemplated on cutting it every now and then, but could never muster up the courage to do so. She swatted at the stray strands that made its way into her mouth.</p><p class="p1">“I’ll join you in just a second… I’m going to braid my hair.” She shuffled around in her bag for a hair band, and when she pulled it out, Link tapped on her shoulder, holding his hand out.</p><p class="p1">“I can do it.”</p><p class="p1">“You can braid?” Zelda asked, surprised. She situated herself down on the sand, smiling in content when her skin hit the warm surface. Warm and comfortable, the two things she enjoyed. Link let out a hum of affirmation, sitting behind her, as he carefully combed her hair with his fingers.</p><p class="p1">“I have a younger sister, so I used to do her hair a lot.”</p><p class="p1">“You have a younger sister?” Zelda almost turned her head around, but stopped herself. “You’ve never mentioned her before! There’s always something new with you isn’t there?” Zelda smiled as he let out a small laugh. She focused on his fingers brushing through her hair, and on the sound of the waves that washed up onto the sandy shores. She had forgotten how pleasant the sea sounded.</p><p class="p1">Ever since she was unable to visit Hateno with him, he had promised to take her to secret spots around Hyrule that his father had taken him to, given that they were around the same area as their initial destination. She had looked forward to these various locations—although, that was before the overbearing pressure of obtaining the power.</p><p class="p1">No, the pressure was always there, but it had been suffocating her to hurry as of late. She had no time for such pleasantries, and decided to immerse herself in unlocking that damned sealing power to the point of exhaustion.</p><p class="p1">In the latest incident, she collapsed on horseback when they had gone on a trip to Rito Village to speak with Revali. Luckily he was riding beside her, and caught her before she could tumult head first into the rocky ground beneath them, but not without sustaining a couple of nasty scabs that still marked her legs. Link had fallen off of his own horse to dampen her fall and cushioned most of her damage. As he wrapped bandages around her legs, she tended to his head wounds, all while expressing her discomfort with him recklessly putting himself in harms way. It had been hard to keep the sternness in her voice when the pain from her legs kept causing her to grit her teeth though.</p><p class="p1">Zelda frowned upon that memory—if there was one thing she had to pick about him that she disliked, it would have to be how self-sacrficing he was.</p><p class="p1">After that incident, he seemed insistent that they take a small break to one of the many locations that he wanted to take her to, but reluctantly, she had always refused. Zelda did feel a little bad that she kept rejecting his proposal to take a short one-day trip, so she agreed to wear her bathing suit under her ceremonial dress for this trip, since he continuously mentioned that it would make her feel less uncomfortable while she was in the water when she prayed.</p><p class="p1">Of course she didn’t believe him—but she did it to humor him anyway.</p><p class="p1">And then <em>this </em>happened.</p><p class="p1">As she readied herself for another day of praying at the Spring of Courage, he lifted her onto the back of his horse, hopped on himself, and then sped off toward the coasts near Lurelin with her in tow.</p><p class="p1">Not that she hated being here. Rather, it was quite the opposite, but the stress was still there and the guilt for abandoning her responsibilities for the day were ever blooming in her chest.</p><p class="p1">“There, done,” Link exhaled with satisfaction.</p><p class="p1">Zelda turned around to face him, beaming. “Oh, we must take a picture!” She quickly grabbed the Sheikah Slate and pulled his arm toward her. Their heads lightly bumped against one another as she took a quick snap.</p><p class="p1">Link blinked rapidly afterwards, unprepared.</p><p class="p1">Zelda smiled down at the picture she had taken—her grinning and Link looking alarmed and confused. His expression reminded her of the first photo they had taken with the other Champions. She set the Sheikah Slate on top of her dress and felt around her hair.</p><p class="p1">“Why, you did quite a good job! I don’t feel much looseness in it.” Zelda pulled her braid over her shoulder, admiring it.</p><p class="p1">“There’s still enough time to go to the Spring instead, if you really want to.”</p><p class="p1">She caught that teasing tone of his—always lightly settled underneath the seriousness of his voice whenever he decided to poke some fun at her.</p><p class="p1">She scoffed and stood up, brushing bits of sand that had stuck to the back of her thighs.</p><p class="p1">“Come on, you need this too.”</p>
<hr/><p class="p1">She didn’t go into the water immediately. Instead, she watched Link attempt to catch fish with his bare hands for the first hour near the rocks. Halfway through, with no progress, he decided to try to stab them with his Master Sword, as if it would increase his chance of success.</p><p class="p1">Which it didn’t, to her amusement.</p><p class="p1">After he had gotten out, she decided to try her own fair share of the beach experience.</p><p class="p1">She tentatively stuck her toes in first to check the temperature of the sea, but it was surprisingly warm—nothing like the times where she stood in the shallow waters of the Springs and prayed. It was refreshing and inviting.</p><p class="p1">It was… peaceful.</p><p class="p1">Zelda wiggled her toes, watching the wet sand slip in and out between them with the water for a moment.</p><p class="p1">She looked behind to wave at Link, who decided to settle on the sand, sprawled. He waved back lazily, his eyes fluttering close. She waded in a bit deeper, submerging her body, trying to at least enjoy the warm waters without thinking of her responsibilities. At least for a little bit, if anything.</p><p class="p1">When she sat down, the water was up to her neck, and it felt like she was getting hugged by a warm blanket. As she relaxed, her eyes wandered across the sea. It was clear enough that she could see the rocks beneath and the different variety of colorful sea life. Zelda hummed, moving her hands under the water to watch the ripples it created. She chuckled as some of the little fishes around her darted away, swimming deeper, toward the rocks.</p><p class="p1">As her gaze trailed their path, her eyes caught a glimpse of a shine off to the side—something sparkled under the waves, just in the distance. She simply had to wade a bit deeper. She glanced back to Link, who now had his arm over his eyes in an attempt to shield the sun out.</p><p class="p1">She debated whether or not to bring the Sheikah Slate, but found herself already treading toward the sparkle underneath the crystal blue sea.</p><p class="p1">Her heart flipped as she drew closer to it. More colorful groups of fishes dispersed when she neared, scattering all around her. She knew why she had been so drawn to it—the gem sparkled like the color of Link’s eyes, bright blue against the rough grayness of the other rocks.</p><p class="p1">An Aquamarine gem.</p><p class="p1">She figured a quick duck under would suffice—but of course things appeared closer than they seemed underwater, and she was under the surface for longer than she anticipated. A little overestimation didn’t hurt her though, as she retrieved the Aquamarine easily enough. She didn’t rise up to the surface immediately after picking it up. Instead, she admired how it looked under the rays of the sun in the water.</p><p class="p1">The sound of Link’s muffled voice calling her from above drew her out of her admiration. She took one last glance at the gem in her hand before grasping it tightly, wiggling her way back up to the surface.</p><p class="p1">“Hey! I’m right here!” Zelda shouted once she broke through, waving her arms in the air. She swam back, hardly that far from shore in the first place, and rung out her braid of water as she smiled brightly at him. “I just found this stunning—“</p><p class="p1">“Why’d you go out so far?” he asked, panic wrapping around his voice. Her smile faltered.</p><p class="p1">“Link, I went approximately fifteen feet away,” Zelda stated, bewildered. “It looked like you were sleeping so I didn’t wake you up.”</p><p class="p1">“Regardless of what I’m doing you should’ve told me.” He ran his hand fervently through his hair, sending sand flying everywhere. He looked confused and troubled, as if he had startled himself awake from his own nap. Zelda tightened her grip on the Aquamarine in her hand, frowning now.</p><p class="p1">“If you’re resting, I’m not going to wake you up to tell you I’m walking fifteen feet away from you. That’s absurd.”</p><p class="p1">He stayed silent, and she knew what it was—closing up, deciding to keep his mouth shut. He did that now and then, and it was something she had accepted, but it didn’t mean she wouldn’t try to keep him from falling back into his old habits. She wanted him to speak for himself, for him to voice his own opinions without worrying. At least… with her.</p><p class="p1">“Link, you deserve as much rest as I do. You need to put yourself first—“</p><p class="p1">“Your safety is my priority,” he stated firmly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. The fact that he had said it so easily angered her.</p><p class="p1">“Well, you’re <em>my</em> priority!” Zelda declared back stubbornly, shoving the gem into his chest. He grabbed it, but didn’t tear his eyes away from her. “I found this because I thought of you and I thought you’d like it. A-And as Princess, I declare you to put yourself as your own priority!” Zelda sharply twisted around to trudge back into the water.</p><p class="p1">“Don’t follow me!” she demanded. His soft footsteps that had trekked behind after her paused. She let out a huff of irritation as she submerged herself once more into the sea, going far enough so that she could sit down with the water just below her mouth. She blew bubbles into the water in hopes to blow off some steam, but the tempered anger didn’t linger very long anway. She kept glancing over her shoulder at him. He sat in the sand, looking sullen and glum. She couldn’t find it in herself to stay annoyed for too long.</p><p class="p1">After a short while she waved her hand at him, letting him know that he could come if he wanted to.</p><p class="p1">He had to sit a little ways behind her if he didn’t want the water to cover his nose. They sat there quietly for a couple minutes, simply listening to the sounds of the coastline.</p><p class="p1">“It’s pretty, thanks,” he said, breaking the silence. She nodded in response.</p><p class="p1">“I know it’s pretty, you’re welcome.” Zelda continued to blow bubbles into the water, her arms still crossed.</p><p class="p1">Eventually she scooted back and stopped once her back hit him. She drew her knees up, wrapping her arms around them.</p><p class="p1">“Link. Did you ever hate me?”</p><p class="p1">Her question startled him—she could feel him shift as the water around them rippled.</p><p class="p1">“Why would I hate you?” He sounded genuinely confused.</p><p class="p1">“Because I was nothing but rude to you at first,” Zelda stated matter of factly. “I don’t know what compels you to be so kind. Ever since the beginning you’ve been nothing but that.”</p><p class="p1">She patiently waited for a response, but his extended silence began to unnerve her. Soon, the little voices of doubt began creeping up into her thoughts: he must’ve been nice to her because he had to—how could he be rude to her, if she was the princess?</p><p class="p1">“The world is already cruel to you, so I thought you’ve had enough of that,” he said quietly. Her chiding thoughts halted shortly after, fading. Not even the voice of doubt could compete against his words, because if there was one thing Zelda was sure of, it was his honesty.</p><p class="p1">They sat there until their fingers grew wrinkled and pruny before she decided to finally look at him.</p><p class="p1">“I know you’re just concerned about me, but getting agitated over such a thing was quite unnecessary you know.”</p><p class="p1">“Yeah, I know. I’m sorry.” Link rubbed the back of his neck.</p><p class="p1">“But I do appreciate your concern,” she stated, standing up. She turned around and held out a hand to him. He didn’t grab on immediately and glanced up at her first, hesitating. Zelda had a ghost of a smile on her lips, assuring him that she was okay. But there was still an unresolved tension under her skin that she couldn’t quite pinpoint.</p><p class="p1">He gripped her wrist as he pulled himself up. It took all of Zelda’s strength not to topple over, but she felt slightly proud for not falling on top of him this time. Their weekly training sessions were definitely paying off.</p><p class="p1">“I was ready for you to fall into my open arms,” he said with a playful lilt of his voice.</p><p class="p1">“I’m sure you would’ve loved that just so you could have something else to make fun of me for,” Zelda replied back with a scoff. The chill of the wind made her shiver, and they walked back to the shores, with Zelda rubbing her hands up and down her arms. Link was quick to grab some towels that he left on some nearby rocks and wrapped it around her shoulders before he did the same to himself.</p><p class="p1">The tension under her skin snapped.</p><p class="p1">“See—that’s exactly what I’m talking about!” Zelda exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at him.</p><p class="p1">He blinked, confused.</p><p class="p1">“You <em>always</em> do that. You make sure I eat first, make sure my tent is up first. You always make sure that <em>I’m</em> comfortable first before <em>you</em> are comfortable yourself!” She said quickly, halting. The waves crawled up to their ankles before drawing back into the sea. It continued that constant rhythm as they stared at one another.</p><p class="p1">He raised an eyebrow, as if he was saying <em>so what</em>? Zelda frowned and stood a bit straighter as she spoke. “From now on, I insist that you take care of yourself <em>first</em>, before you start concerning yourself over me.” He opened his mouth, as if to counter her point, but she immediately continued before he could say anything. “I see you as a companion, Link. As a dear friend, not just some associate of mine. I know that it’s your duty to ensure my safety, but I don’t want it to be at the expense of your own. It happens time after time, and it pains me to—“ she halted, sighing. She realized it seemed ridiculous that she had begun spewing this out simply because he had given her a towel first. But with him, she found herself more impulsive than usual.</p><p class="p1">And she wasn’t sure if it was necessarily a good thing.</p><p class="p1">At that point, Zelda had clasped her hands in front of her, casting her eyes elsewhere. Before she continued, she returned her attention back to his now softened gaze once she had found the words she had meant to say. “Take care of yourself more, Link. Won’t you?”</p><p class="p1">She admired his recklessness, but also feared it. Feared that it would make him meet a brutal end. The mere thought of it chilled her, and as if he knew she was plummeting into the depths of her thoughts, he brought her out of it with the brush of his skin against hers.</p><p class="p1">His fingers moved a stray piece of damp hair that had stuck to her cheek, making her realize how tense her expression probably looked.</p><p class="p1">“I’ll be okay,” Link reassured her. But it wasn’t the answer she was hoping to hear.</p><p class="p1">“Link,” Zelda grabbed his wrist before he could pull away from her cheek. “You’re not invincible,” she whispered, her voice grim.</p><p class="p1">A heartbeat passed between them.</p><p class="p1">“I know.”</p><p class="p1">But did he really? Her eyes traced the various scars covering his legs, arms, to the ones that trailed up his torso. The scars were long, thin, short, wide. Some deep, others superficial. There were even some on his neck. His skin was riddled with marks and burns, and that wasn’t even taking into account the backside of him.Zelda tore her attention away from his body and met his eyes once more.</p><p class="p1">“Truly?” she asked.</p><p class="p1">He nodded, and she relaxed when she noticed that any semblance of humor had left his features. Zelda let go of his wrist, drawing her hands back to latch onto the ends of the towel hanging around her shoulders.</p><p class="p1">“I’ll hold you to that then,” she warned, letting lightness back into her tone. “Don’t you dare forget.”</p><p class="p1">“You’re so demanding today,” he exhaled, feigning annoyance. He shifted away from her to walk further up the shore, and Zelda followed suit.</p><p class="p1">“I’m exercising my right as future Queen,” Zelda insisted curtly, tugging at his ponytail gently. A smile of her own quirked up on her lips after she got a laugh out of him.</p><p class="p1">“Okay, fine. But I’m not going to put myself first every time. If you’re shivering from head to toe I’m giving the blanket to you first.” Link covered his feet with dry sand, wiggling his toes underneath it. She copied him and did the same to her own feet.</p><p class="p1">“As long as you don’t risk your life, I suppose I’ll agree to your terms,” Zelda replied back solemnly. He chuckled at her intentional usage of her princess-esque tone.</p><p class="p1">A click clacking sound prompted her to look up from her feet. She glanced back toward the waves, ears perking up. Her eyes latched onto a nearby ironshell crab, sauntering its way alongside the waves.</p><p class="p1">“Oh!” she said, her eyes brightening. “And lest I forget…” Zelda carefully made her way toward it, “I do wonder if I could study these local crabs alongside the hot-footed frogs. Will these crabs also produce some interesting effects, or will they simply be good for dining?” She raised her hands up, her fingers wiggling in anticipation. The moment the ironshell crab turned its head, Zelda latched onto it, being mindful of its claws.</p><p class="p1">She turned around to face Link, her eyes gleaming with excitement. “I have seen these crabs in some of our flora and fauna books in the royal library. I’m sure the name ‘ironshell’ wouldn’t have appeared out of the blue if they weren’t known for just that. If we take its name into consideration, perhaps it can offer some sort of increased sturdiness, which would greatly benefit you!” she rambled, peeking up to a nervous looking Link.</p><p class="p1">“Don’t worry, I won’t ask you to eat this one just as it is,” she promised. “Unless, in the name of research, you would be willing to try it this time?” Zelda held the crab up to him, and she burst into fit of laughter when he instinctively paced ten steps back. “I’m merely joking, Link!”</p><p class="p1">He let out a shaky, albeit relieved, laugh of his own. Although it would’ve been fortunate for her studies, the last time she urged Link to try a critter, he was less than willing to. She was hoping that maybe a crab would be up his alley, but she figured that eating live critters raw was probably not something anyone, even Link, would be too keen on trying if he didn’t have to.</p><p class="p1">“Get a bottle for me, will you? I want to take it back to the castle.”</p><p class="p1">As he shuffled in her bag for a glass bottle, Zelda carefully made her way back to him while avoiding its sharp clippers. They sat down across from one another, with Link holding out the bottle, and Zelda meticulously placing the ironshell crab into it. She sealed it with a pre-stabbed cork top. She wanted to enable some breathing air for her captured critters, since a live specimen was far more valuable to her than a dead one. She lowered her head to get a clearer view as the numerous experiments she was planning on conducting were already whirring around in her head.</p><p class="p1">“Let’s come back here with everyone else once we seal Ganon,” Link said, his voice quiet against the wind. Zelda raised her eyes from the glass bottle to his face, a bit taken aback from his declaration. He was looking down at her hunched form, staring at her. Even now, it was hard to tell what he was thinking sometimes, despite her best efforts to decipher his expressions.</p><p class="p1">“Once we seal Calamity Ganon,” she echoed back, agreeing with a nod. She leaned back, clearing her throat, but the uncomfortable lodge stuck in it did not disappear. And she knew exactly what it was.</p><p class="p1">Her fear, growing and evolving into something more twisted and deafening than it already was.</p><p class="p1">And it only grew larger when he tilted his head up at her and smiled—not those small smiles he usually gave her—but a smile that reached his eyes. She had never seen one of those before, and a selfish desire to keep that smile only to herself flourished alongside that fear.</p><p class="p1">“I think we should visit the Spring of Courage again before we head back to the castle. We still have two days left,” Zelda murmured, casting her attention back to the clear blue water.</p><p class="p1">“Are you sure?” Link asked, drawing his eyes in the same direction.</p><p class="p1">Zelda nodded, letting out a long, hard exhale.</p><p class="p1">They both stared out toward the sea, relishing in its peacefulness for one last time.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This one was one chonky chapter!! Hope you enjoyed it though! I know I said angst was in the last 3 chapters but there was a little bit in here, wasn't initially planned though fsouhjgsd.</p><p>When I write I like to hop back onto the game and research specific areas. When looking for the specific area this chapter was based off of, I got distracted and ended up playing for a couple hours LOL. It happens all the time, it's so easy to get lost in the game (which I love!!)</p><p>Anyway, it's been a blast writing this, and I didn't really expect it to gain as much attention as it has, so I want to thank you all for taking the time to read this! It's definitely a passion project of mine, and I'm glad to see that people enjoy it (': The next couple chapters were really fun (but challenging) to write, hope you look forward to it!!! The next one has a special place in my heart heh.</p><p>Have a good week!!! See you next Tuesday xoxo</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. a cruel realization</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Between Memory 9-10</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">Zelda prayed.</p>
<p class="p1">And prayed.</p>
<p class="p1">Despite all of her praying, she was never sure if she was even doing it right.</p>
<p class="p1">Was there a specific way to do it? Was she doing it wrong? Did she even have the blood of Hylia coursing through her veins?</p>
<p class="p1">An icy jolt staggered up her body and she violently shivered in response, rippling the water around her. It was the first movement in hours among the emptiness that surrounded her thoughts. She shot her eyes open, exhaling sharply out of her nose, finally aware of how much her body was shaking. The reflection of the full moon in the water wavered in front of her, bright and distracting, reminding her that another day would soon rise—and how this one was wasted. She squeezed her eyes shut once more.</p>
<p class="p1">Anger gripped at the edges of her mind as it hung on to the last strings of her attempted, desperate praying. But the last couple of hours felt like she had simply been begging, not praying.</p>
<p class="p1">Begging for something, anything, a flash of light, a vision, just… anything.</p>
<p class="p1">And yet, despite it all, despite <em>everything</em>, there was no revelation.</p>
<p class="p1">Was there supposed to be one? She didn’t even know.</p>
<p class="p1">Link shuffled behind her, his sword scraping against the stone floor just enough to remind her that he was there. She had been so absorbed in her thoughts that she had momentarily forgotten she wasn’t alone. She shuddered again, though this time, an involuntary hiss escaped between her chattering teeth. She held on to the feeble hope that he didn’t hear it, but every movement she emitted never seemed to evade him. He shuffled again, drawing Zelda out of her ruminating thoughts even more. She convinced herself that he was planning to retire for the night—except, she heard a loud splash.</p>
<p class="p1">The sound completely withdrew her from the depths of her mind.</p>
<p class="p1">She swiveled back, pressing her hands against her chest, as she watched Link push through the water toward her.</p>
<p class="p1">“Link what are you—“ She flinched as his warm hand cupped her cheek—so warm that it stung her.</p>
<p class="p1">“You’re freezing, Princess.” A stern look passed across his features—a semblance to a frown, with eyebrows knitted up in concern. His typically guarded eyes softened just a little.</p>
<p class="p1">“I—“ Zelda hesitated, sighing as she dropped her shoulders. “No. I’m… I can almost hear the Goddess. I swear it.” She cursed herself for sounding so shaky, but regardless, she turned back around, moving away from his hand. She tangled her fingers together even tighter than before.</p>
<p class="p1">This was the first time he had ever tried to stop her, and it irked her. Itched under her skin, like… like he was giving up on her. And out of everyone—she didn’t want it to be him.</p>
<p class="p1">The thought of it pricked her eyes irritably.</p>
<p class="p1">“Please,” he whispered, delicately placing a hand on her pale shoulder. She shivered at his touch, curling into herself. He was always soft spoken, but not like this; pained and pleading.</p>
<p class="p1">“I’ll stay here even if the Goddess takes me,” she insisted sharply. The cruel words had slipped out without much thought, and only when she said it did she realize how grim it sounded.</p>
<p class="p1">But somewhere, deep within her, she knew those words rang true.</p>
<p class="p1">“T-That’s not what I meant,” Zelda stammered immediately after. She opened her mouth to explain, but she couldn’t find the energy to somehow mask the truth she had just spoken, so instead, her words were left hanging in the air between them like a ticking bomb.</p>
<p class="p1">“You should go get some rest,” she said instead, quietly over her shoulder. Once again, Zelda brought her hands together, closing her eyes. His hand slipped from her, and along with it, the warmth she craved. As the cold settled into her skin once more, she pressed her clasped hands to her lips.</p>
<p class="p1">It was hard to concentrate when she could still feel his presence directly behind her, and the heat from his body distracted her.</p>
<p class="p1">She waited for him to leave.</p>
<p class="p1">But he didn’t.</p>
<p class="p1">Zelda glanced back at him, her eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. His head was bowed down, with lips drawn tight. She couldn’t see his eyes. Fighting against the weight of the water that dragged down her dress, she turned around to face him. “Link, did you hear me?” she asked, bringing her hand to his face.</p>
<p class="p1">Suddenly, his hand reached up toward her extended arm and grasped it tightly. Zelda jumped at his sudden movements, alarmed. He glared up at her, and a chill ran down her spine as their eyes locked.</p>
<p class="p1">She had always thought that the coolness of his eyes never resembled who he actually was, but this time, they reflected the true color of how he seemed at that moment—icy blue.</p>
<p class="p1">Before she could react, he was already pulling her back toward dry land.</p>
<p class="p1">“What do you think you’re doing?” Zelda asked, baffled and dumbfounded.</p>
<p class="p1">His grip never loosened, even when she was completely out of the water, dripping wet. She stared at the back of his head as he simply stood there, his hand around her arm only tightening with each breath he took. It was unlike him to be as distant as he was—and even more so that he wasn’t responding to her. She used her free hand to touch his arm, barely brushing his skin, but that simple act seemed to snap him out of his thoughts. Upon contact, he immediately let go of her, as if her touch shocked him.</p>
<p class="p1">“I’ll…” he trailed off, his back still toward her. He shook the hand that had held her, as if he was trying to get rid of something. “I’ll go make a fire. Stay there.”</p>
<p class="p1">And then he was gone before she could respond, past the stone entry way that led to the forest outside of the Spring.</p>
<p class="p1">Zelda glanced back at the statue that gazed down upon her with its taunting smile. She debated whether or not to dip back into the freezing waters until she noticed the light red mark on her skin, where he had grabbed her.</p>
<p class="p1">The cool paleness of her skin only accentuated it, leaving her numb.</p>
<hr/>
<p class="p1">They didn’t speak when he came back, and he wouldn’t look at her, no matter how long she stared him down. He had given her his spare clothes, a simple long sleeve tunic and loose pants, so that she wouldn’t be dripping wet for the night. When she sat down across the campfire, he held out a blanket for her, still avoiding her piercing gaze.</p>
<p class="p1">“Thank you,” she said, eyeing him.</p>
<p class="p1">He turned around.</p>
<p class="p1">Zelda deflated a little, frowning. She wrapped it around her shoulders tightly, snuggling in its warmth for a moment before scooting closer to the fire. As her hands gripped at the fabric, she realized it was the same blanket from the time they were on their way to Zora’s Domain, by the pattern on it. She ran her fingers against the embroidery, finding comfort in its stitches. Link began tossing some branches into the fire, and as it grew larger, Zelda could finally feel her fingers and toes. She thought he’d stop after the fifth tree branch, but he kept tossing them in at a pace that, quite frankly, concerned her.</p>
<p class="p1">His blue eyes reflected the warm glow of growing fire—glinting, dimming.</p>
<p class="p1">“Link,” Zelda whispered behind the fabric of the blanket, but he didn’t respond. “<em>Link.</em>” She tried again, louder this time, pulling the covers down from her nose. His name on her tongue only resulted in a twitch of his mouth. He was resting his chin on one hand as he continued to lazily toss more branches into the fire with the other.“Can you please say something?” she asked gently.</p>
<p class="p1">His face was blank. He was always good at doing that when he really wanted no one to know what he was thinking.</p>
<p class="p1">“What do you want me to say?” he muttered back. There was an edge to his voice that she’d never heard before—was it… anger?</p>
<p class="p1">Did she make him mad? He never got mad. At anybody. He never did. No one, not even the Champions, the only other people he’s ever opened up to, had seen him get mad.</p>
<p class="p1">Sure, he got annoyed, but <em>mad</em>?</p>
<p class="p1">“I just—“ Zelda paused before the panic in her voice could come out. “I just want to know what you’re thinking,” Zelda said, keeping her voice steady. He stopped moving, and his blue eyes darted to her again. The only sound between them was the crackle of the fire, which he had overfed to the point where it was unnecessarily large and overbearing.</p>
<p class="p1">They stared at one another—and for the first time in a long time, he looked like a stranger.</p>
<p class="p1">Zelda realized how spoiled she had been all those times where he laughed or frowned at her now that she saw that blank look of his. She searched his face for something—anger, annoyance, rage—but there was nothing. She would’ve preferred anything.</p>
<p class="p1">Anything but that slack expression.</p>
<p class="p1">“You want to know what I think?” He ripped his gaze from hers, and for some reason, it felt like he had pulled away from her. Zelda tightened her grasp on the blanket, willing her hands to stop shaking. He returned his attention to the fire, poking at it. The edge in his voice was still there, and she hung on to it desperately, hoping that it would keep him from drawing further away than he already was. “You <em>really</em> want to know?”</p>
<p class="p1">“You know that I always do.”</p>
<p class="p1">When he didn’t continue, Zelda cast her gaze to the crackling fire, trying to find a reason for his aggravation. Their visits to the Springs were as they always were. The only difference was his odd quietness throughout the majority of this particular journey... but what she did today was what she had been doing on any other trip. So what had changed? Zelda scoured her memories for any bits and pieces of clues that she could fit together. The only thing she could really conclude was that he had become much more observant of her the past months. Or maybe she had simply imagined it, because she wanted to believe that he…</p>
<p class="p1">Zelda shook her head, letting the thought fall out before it could complete itself. Regardless, that knowledge didn’t help her in the situation at hand, because now it seemed like he couldn’t stand to even lock eyes with her for two seconds.</p>
<p class="p1">“I don’t know what I’ve done to upset you. Is it because you have to accompany me? I know that these trips are taxing, and that it’s been taking—“ Zelda stopped speaking once she shifted her eyes to him.</p>
<p class="p1">That blank expression of his had vanished, and was replaced by frustration. The fire reflected in his eyes grew brighter the larger the flames got.</p>
<p class="p1">“Link, the fire...“ Zelda warned quietly, and his hand paused midway, about to throw another stick in.</p>
<p class="p1">“I want you to stop beating yourself up,” he started, his voice strained. His eyebrows scrunched together as he opened his mouth again, the words flowing out quicker and smoother now. Louder even. “I want to see you smile and laugh like you mean it. I don’t want to touch your skin and feel it colder than ice anymore. Every single time you come out of that water, I can see the light in your eyes fading away.” He dropped the stick into the fire and didn’t reach for anymore. There was a pause, and the air around them stilled, holding its breath.</p>
<p class="p1">“I’m tired of not being able to do anything,” he admitted quietly, exhaling. With it, the tension in the air released as well.</p>
<p class="p1">Zelda scooted closer to him. When she was able to get a better look at his face, she realized how weary he seemed, with those dark bags under his half lidded eyes. She opened up the blanket, inviting.</p>
<p class="p1">“I’m cold,” she said. He didn’t budge an inch. “You said you’re tired of not being able to do anything?” Zelda lifted an eyebrow. “You can keep me warm.”</p>
<p class="p1">His face flushed red and he turned away from her, staring down at his hands. “That’s not what I meant.”</p>
<p class="p1">Zelda pursed her lips, trying to find words of comfort, but her attempts were fruitless. The only thing she could provide him was something that he had been constantly giving her—honesty.</p>
<p class="p1">“Link, you know I need to do this.” She dropped her arm, sighing. “I can’t just… stop trying. I will bend and break if that’s what it takes to get this sacred power—it’s something I cannot avoid. Regardless of what becomes of me.”</p>
<p class="p1">He looked pained at her words, but they were true, and she wouldn’t hide it. She never did to begin with. She hesitated with her next words—words that she only kept floating in her own thoughts, but maybe voicing them to him would help him understand.</p>
<p class="p1">“But I’m glad that you and the other Champions are here with me,” she said, pausing. If she wasn’t going to voice this now, she wasn’t sure she would ever get the chance to. “It gives me strength. It helps me move forward. And you… you…” Zelda trailed off, fidgeting with a piece of fraying thread on the blanket. The fact that he existed in the world spread an unfathomable joy within her, and she felt fortunate to be alive at the same time as him. To simply be connected with such a soul as beautiful as his filled her with more strength than the sealing power would ever be able to give.</p>
<p class="p1">But that was too much—an honesty too raw—for her to admit. She couldn’t indulge in such… distracting truths. Not now.</p>
<p class="p1">At her hesitance, he looked up at her, with a mix of curiosity and longing.</p>
<p class="p1">Longing?</p>
<p class="p1">No, maybe it was she who looked upon him like that, but she couldn’t look away from him, even after the painful realization that hit her.</p>
<p class="p1"><em>You love him</em>, a little voice whispered to her. It almost sounded like a soft exhale, as if it was relieved to tell her. </p>
<p class="p1">“Thank you, Link. I will always be grateful for you, in all of our lifetimes. That will never change.” She offered him a slight smile—a smile to let him know that he was not alone. And she hoped it would be enough to ease his pain, even if it was only brief, for it was all she could give in that moment.</p>
<p class="p1">He stayed quiet, but she didn’t find discomfort in the silence this time as they both gazed at the warm fire.</p>
<p class="p1">As it began to die down, he tugged at her blanket, prompting her to come toward him. His blue eyes shimmered like the shallow waters of a clear sea as she drew closer, and she opened her arms once more, inviting. Months of pressure and tension peeled off of her when his skin met hers, as he laid his head in the crook of her neck. She placed her cheek against the top of his head, finding comfort in the sound of his soft breathing. Her eyes stayed focused on the flicker of the firelight.</p>
<p class="p1">She didn’t say anything when she felt warm water dribble onto her skin, dripping down her collarbone. Instead, she tightened the blanket wrapped around them, pulling him closer, and gently shut her eyes.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>As always, thanks again for taking the time to read!!</p>
<p>This was one of the first chapters I actually wrote out when planning this mini series hehe, glad that I can finally share it with you all!! It actually stopped where the line break was, then I added more a few weeks ago. Relatively shorter chapter, but I hope you enjoy it regardless~</p>
<p>Times are hard so don't forget to wind down and relax!! See you next Tuesday xoxo</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. behind closed doors</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Before Memory 11</p><p>This chapter made me feel so embarrassed lmao... I struggled to hit that post button ;o;</p><p>I just noticed the whole "Between Memory" "Before Memory" thing I've been doing is like, only taking into account the recovered memory picture numbers and not the memories you get from doing the Divine Beasts and whatnot. I hope no one got confused on that LMAO. Oops.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">Zelda gazed up into the moonless sky, watching the stars glint from the edge of her window in the study tower. Dread filled her body as she watched the light of the stars fade with each blink she took—her eyes were playing tricks on her again. The longer she stared into the darkness between the twinkling stars, the more apparent the abyss became.</p><p class="p1">What if this was the last night sky she would see? What if it was going to be the last for many? There was no telling when Calamity Ganon would invoke its wrath upon them, and sleepless nights have started to become common in her schedule. She had to be missing something, something that was vital into unlocking the power. Everyone was waiting on her.</p><p class="p1">All eyes were on her.</p><p class="p1">Two raps on the door lulled her out of her thoughts, drawing her attention away from the darkness.</p><p class="p1">Link popped his head in, holding up a bundle of wrapped cloth. He waved it a little in the air; a silent way of asking if he could come in.</p><p class="p1">“You’re late today,” Zelda inquired with a cock of her head. She moved from the ledge, stepping down onto the table as she made room for him to sit next to her on it. As he got closer into the light of the candles, she noticed how disheveled his hair was. Instinctively, she reached out toward his bangs, brushing them aside. Before she could continue to ruffle with his hair, Link grabbed her fingers, stopping her.</p><p class="p1">“Training went over a bit longer than anticipated?” Zelda asked, raising their hands just enough to look at his face.</p><p class="p1">“Yeah,” he said, nodding a little. “I’m sweaty, so you probably shouldn’t touch my hair.”</p><p class="p1">“But your hair is quite soft after you practice,” she murmured, wiggling her fingers in a fickle attempt to touch it again. She laughed at his flushed face, deciding to draw her hand back instead. “Okay, okay. I’ll stop.” She gestured toward the empty space next to her on the table, smiling.</p><p class="p1">He placed the bundled cloth on the table and began unwrapping as Zelda closed her eyes, but not without trying to catch a glimpse at what he had inside the bundle of goodies. She ever so slightly peeked, peering down at his working hands, biting her lip a little in anticipation. Did he bring something sweet? Savory? Or perhaps… both? Last time, they had something sweet and meaty—she was craving something that would fill her up again, since she somewhat relied on these late night snacks to keep herself full.</p><p class="p1">When his hands stopped moving, Zelda took a tentative glance at him to find him frowning at her.</p><p class="p1">“Okay, okay. Fine…” Zelda pouted, covering her eyes with both of her hands to show him that she wasn’t going to try to peek again. Her stomach grumbled as the aroma of the food wafted to her nose.</p><p class="p1">“Ready?” he asked, shuffling. She tilted her head at him, waiting expectantly.Something brushed against her lips, prompting her to open her mouth. She took a hearty bite out of it, smiling widely as an explosion of flavor hit her.</p><p class="p1">Zelda chewed slowly, feeling the texture against her tongue and the taste—well it was clearly meaty again, and a little bready too. It wasn’t the same as what they had last night though. She thought of what it could be, swallowing the last of it with a satisfied hum. They had started this little game of ‘<em>guess what food this is</em>’ weeks ago, when Zelda couldn’t find it in herself to eat as much as before. She found the idea of it foolish and childish at first, but decided to give it a try since he seemed insistent that it would be fun.</p><p class="p1">“I think I need another bite, I couldn’t get a distinct taste,” she said innocently, opening her mouth.</p><p class="p1">She took another large bite, quickly chewing through it this time. She smiled as she turned back to him again after she finished swallowing it. “Maybe just <em>one</em> more—“</p><p class="p1">“You just want to eat it all without guessing don’t you?”</p><p class="p1">“What? Me? Of course not,” Zelda insisted, leaning in. She laughed when she felt him shift away from her. “I swear I just need one more bite, then I wholeheartedly believe I can<em> truly </em>figure out what it is—“</p><p class="p1">Zelda squeaked when he tapped her nose. She lifted her fingers away from her face and opened her eyes to see that they were <em>close</em>. For a second, her eyes landed on his lips.</p><p class="p1">A second later, she leaned back.</p><p class="p1">“You’re going to make me into a glutton like you if you keep making me food at night,” Zelda declared with her hands on her hips. He held out the remaining portion of the meat pie, waiting expectantly. Zelda’s nose twitched at the wondrous smell that floated from it.</p><p class="p1">“Well, since my dear knight attendant made this, I suppose I must eat it,” she said, grabbing it without hesitance. Link chuckled as he watched her eat it happily. She cast a quick glance back at him—at his lips, which had been mere centimeters away from her own only seconds ago.</p><p class="p1">Were his lips as soft as they looked?</p><p class="p1">Her thoughts halted when he sat down next to her, their knees bumping against one another. It was such an insignificant act, and yet she could hear her heart pounding in her ears.</p><p class="p1">She wanted to be closer.</p><p class="p1">Zelda felt quite unfortunate for herself to have developed such emotions in the first place. She wished she hadn’t.</p><p class="p1">“This is frustrating,” she murmured to herself, frowning.</p><p class="p1">“Hm?”</p><p class="p1">Ah, she had said it out loud.</p><p class="p1">“Just—the insomnia. It’s getting to me I think,” Zelda said, eating the remaining bit of her meat pie. “How are you faring on your end?” It seemed they had both been plagued with insomnia for the past month, according to what he had told her earlier that week.</p><p class="p1">“A little better,” he said, handing her another meat pie before grabbing one for himself. “Are you sure you don’t want to visit a doctor?”</p><p class="p1">“No, no.” Zelda shook her head quickly, frowning. She refrained from mentioning how she thought it’d be a waste of her time. “Perhaps I’d sleep better knowing you were the one keeping watch at my door at night,” she said, joking lightly.</p><p class="p1">He immediately stopped chewing and looked away from her.</p><p class="p1">A heartbeat passed. Her smile faltered. He stuffed the remainder of the meat pie into his mouth.</p><p class="p1">“Link,” Zelda began slowly, scrutinizing him. He nervously glanced at her. “You haven’t. You <em>didn’t</em>.”</p><p class="p1">“The extra pay was good,” he mumbled, his mouth full of meat pie still.</p><p class="p1">“The extra pay!” Zelda scoffed. “I won’t believe that for one second. Did you bribe the other knight or something?”</p><p class="p1">“No, I just told him that he was rotated to another position…”</p><p class="p1">“Link,” Zelda deadpanned. “When do you even get to rest then?” If he was awake during the day with her and now awake at the dead of night guarding her room... no wonder why he had those dark circles under his eyes.</p><p class="p1">“You know, whenever I can,” he said vaguely, shrugging.</p><p class="p1">“Oh, so you mean all those little naps you seem to be having whenever we go out now? That’s the <em>only </em>sleep you get? You don’t have to watch over me when I’m in the castle. It’s one of the safest places for me to be in.”</p><p class="p1">“I just feel better, knowing I’m close by. Just in case,” Link admitted, scratching behind his ear. “I mean sometimes I fall asleep too.”</p><p class="p1">“How long have you been doing this?”</p><p class="p1">“Just a couple months,” he said nonchalantly.</p><p class="p1">Zelda narrowed her eyes at him.</p><p class="p1">“Well, you should just come into the room next time,” she said, pausing. “We can… I don’t know, do something together?” She had already begun conjuring up an idea to somehow get him to sleep. Zelda wasn’t entirely sure if he would sleep in her bed, but he might doze off on a chair. That was preferable over him sleeping on the hard ground, at least.</p><p class="p1">“Go into your room?” He raised an eyebrow.</p><p class="p1">“If you want,” she said casually, but she averted her gaze elsewhere. It wasn’t a big deal—he’s been in her bedroom before. Well, with other people, but still. “Additionally, you can ease your worries if you can see me, right?”</p><p class="p1">He remained quiet as he thought, not responding.</p><p class="p1">“Anyway,” Zelda said, swinging her legs. “I’ve had a wondrous amount of new information regarding the events from ten thousand years ago.”</p><p class="p1">“Is that why you’ve been stuck in here more often lately?”</p><p class="p1">“Mhm, Purah and Robbie recovered some documents and I recently just got a hold of it. Although… it’s still a bit confusing to decipher. They were able to recover the hard data, but translating it will have to be done by me. I just wish I was more efficient in it—it’s infuriating to get stuck on one word for hours upon hours.”</p><p class="p1">“It’ll be only a matter of time then before you figure it out.”</p><p class="p1">“Right,” Zelda said, staring down at her half eaten meat pie. Only a matter of time until she solves the text. Also only a matter of time before she unlocks the sealing power.</p><p class="p1">Only a matter of time.</p><p class="p1">But she didn’t<em> have</em> time. No one did. That was the issue. Her lips pursed into a tight line as her thoughts wandered once more. She took another bite of her meat pie with a little less enthusiasm.</p><p class="p1">“You’ll unlock it, Princess,” he said, sensing the unease around her. He sounded so sure and confident, she wished she could adopt such immediate faith in herself like he did.</p><p class="p1">“Oh, I’ll have to. There’s no other choice,” she said bitterly. After she had finished her food, she leaned back against her hands. “I know I say this a lot, but thank you for everything.” She watched him from the corner of her eyes.</p><p class="p1">“We’ll be okay,” he said, his voice full of hope. He shifted a little to face her, and the tips of his fingers brushed against hers as he placed his hand on the table, leaning toward her a little. “No matter what you choose, we’ll always be by your side.”</p><p class="p1">Zelda laughed a bit at his words as the tightness in her chest grew. “No matter what I do, you’ll stick by me?” She fully looked up over at him now, lightly hitting his shoulder with her own.</p><p class="p1">“Of course,” he said, lightly tapping her shoulder back. “Through and through.”</p><p class="p1">Zelda playfully perused him, smiling with a tease at the tip of her tongue—but there was no humor in his expression. Her stomach fluttered by the way he looked at her—how it always seemed like he was looking past the labels attached to her and simply only saw her as flesh and bone, as Zelda, and not as a Goddess reincarnate.</p><p class="p1">She had always felt the constant gaze of her people and Hylia weighing upon her shoulders, but with the absence of the moon and the mask of the dark night, it felt like not a single soul could spy upon them. A selfish desire unfolded within her, clouding her thoughts as she searched the endless depth of his eyes.</p><p class="p1">His eyes… they had always been a curious blue.</p><p class="p1">She wanted to see only herself in them.</p><p class="p1">“Even if I do this?” she whispered, closing the distance between them. Her eyes darted to his parted mouth—she had never noticed the small scar on his bottom lip until now, since she was so close to him, hyperaware of his presence. She placed a hand on his cheek to keep his head from turning away.</p><p class="p1">“Even if I were to kiss you, would you still stick by me like before?”</p><p class="p1">His breathing almost stopped and she could hear his heartbeat thrum against his chest, loud and panicked. In her sudden act he had gripped the edges of the table, alarmed, but he—he didn’t pull away. He could’ve if he wanted to.</p><p class="p1">She kept her gaze leveled at his lips as she brushed her thumb against it—but all that she felt was an overwhelming sense of grief. Desire and sadness and anger that she just. Couldn’t.</p><p class="p1">She jerked her hand away and pulled back, letting her hair fall over her shoulder like a curtain, shielding her face from him. She tried in vain to calm her racing thoughts, and there was only one word she could grasp from it.</p><p class="p1"><em>Apologize</em>, she told herself weakly. She needed to apologize, first and foremost.</p><p class="p1">They sat there for minutes before she lifted her head, straining a forced smile at him. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Zelda pressed a hand to her neck, feeling the pulse of her racing heart beating against her fingers.</p><p class="p1">This was real, and she…</p><p class="p1">She wanted to run.</p><p class="p1">She simply felt like rushing out of the door and running away, disappearing without a trace. Zelda looked away from him, focusing on how her long shadow spread out across the room, flickering with the wave of the candles lit.</p><p class="p1">Heat violently crawled up to her cheeks as she finally, fully realized what she had done. She just destroyed one of her most precious relationships because—because she wanted to <em>kiss</em> him. Zelda clasped her hands together in her lap tightly, forcing herself to even her breathing. She needed to pull herself together. She couldn’t lose their friendship—couldn't lose <em>him</em>. There was, without a doubt, that he would rebuild that wall she had chipped away at, after what she had just done.</p><p class="p1">“Link,” Zelda whipped her head to him, her eyebrows knitting up in distress. “I—“</p><p class="p1">He caught her next words in his mouth, leaning forward, as he pressed his lips against hers—it was quick and wonderful and all too fast—and then he drew back, his cheeks as red as a rose and eyes as round as a full moon.</p><p class="p1">Zelda stared at him, dazed.</p><p class="p1">They both lingered there, breaths mingling with one another.</p><p class="p1">Then Link jerked back, knocking over a couple of her books off the table in the process. He scrambled to pick them back up from the ground before placing them sloppily back onto the corner. “I’m sorry—“ he started, raising his head to look at her—they locked eyes, and his cheeks turned crimson. He immediately turned away. “You don’t need this,” he explained to her, or maybe he was explaining it to himself. “You’re already—you have so much on your shoulders already and I didn’t, I mean I don’t, want to… add myself onto that.”</p><p class="p1">Zelda leaned forward and reached out—he was just close enough that she could tug on the sleeve of his Champion’s tunic.</p><p class="p1">“Don’t go,” she whispered.</p><p class="p1">He glanced back at her, eyebrows drawn together. When she tugged again he took a careful step toward her. She grabbed his arm, roughly pulling him to her until he was in front of her. His hands gripped the edge of the table on either side of her, their faces mere inches apart again.</p><p class="p1">She cupped his face, feeling the warmth of his cheeks against her palms, before tapping her forehead against his. “Do you want to kiss me?” she asked quietly, leaning back a little to look at him.</p><p class="p1">He was still blushing furiously, which she thought was quite uncharacteristically cute of him, but didn’t break her gaze. She was desperately holding onto the unreliable bravery she had found somewhere deep within her, and she could feel it slipping away with each passing second he spent thinking.</p><p class="p1">His eyes darted from her lips to the dark sky behind her, then to the scattered papers on the ground before landing into her eyes. His nod was slight, but it was all she needed.</p><p class="p1">She tilted her head down and pressed her lips against his; another short peck, a test. But when she drew back, he pressed forward hastily, connecting their lips once more. She shivered as she felt the light touch of his fingers brush against the back of her neck.</p><p class="p1">It was messy and awkward and she had no idea what she was doing, but if there was a moment she could relive over and over again, it would’ve been that moment.</p><p class="p1">When they broke apart, Zelda’s hands had found their way to his shoulders. She stared at him with wide eyes, her breathing a little ragged. He looked just as unkept as she felt—lips a little swollen, hair a little wild, cheeks flushed. The light of the fire danced across his face as she drank in the sight in front of her, trying to memorize everything about him down to the minutest detail. She clutched the fabric of his tunic, as if she was afraid he would disappear.</p><p class="p1">The reality she always thought she had been staring at in full view slammed into her as if she hadn’t really been looking at it at all.</p><p class="p1">She was doomed, and he was doomed, and they were all doomed if she couldn’t unlock that cursed sealing power.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Went from 0-100 real fast huh haha (':</p><p>Not gonna lie this wasn't even planned when I first started writing this fic but euhakjfsd you know what the story takes you and you just follow ur instincts!! I've never written a kiss scene before but the best way to learn is with zelink right?? (': Wanted Link to take a lil initiative since Zelda was doing it a lot!!</p><p>Also, I know I keep adding chapters to this heckin' fic but there's no harm in adding one more since I already added like 4 more chapters than I originally intended! Probably going to post Ch 10/11 both next week! 'Cause I want to finish this before Age of Calamity comes out. Will probably make next chapter a little wee bit more light hearted like a bowl of fluff with a drop of angst, since the last one is gonna be like a bowl of angst with a drop of fluff heh.</p><p>Anyway, thanks for reading!! And of course for the kudos and comments, they're always appreciated!! I hope the rest of the week is kind to everyone! See you next week~!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. sneaky</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Before Memory 11</p><p>More fluff!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">Two days until she would visit the Spring of Wisdom.</p><p class="p1">Which meant one more day to decipher the text.</p><p class="p1">And of course she was stuck. There were too many… too many<em> things</em> to consider and reevaluate and perfect that just thinking about it was frying her brain. A sigh escaped Zelda’s lips as she dropped her head upon her desk, rattling it. She flinched as she heard scattered, dissonant clangs string in the air, and whatever had fallen clattered onto her desk with a light, metallic thud.</p><p class="p1">She raised her weary head to see what had fallen, and her eyes landed to the corner of her desk. The object was small and square—about the size of her palm.</p><p class="p1">It was one of the many random parts she found scattered near a couple of uncovered Guardians some time ago. She had almost forgotten she was messing around with it before she shoved it onto the shelf after being frustrated about being unable to fix it. Unlike the many others she had found though, this one didn’t light up, and had a particular inscription engraved on it. She opened her drawer and pulled out a cube of similar design, one that had lit up when she had found it before. It was already picked apart, since she was comparing and contrasting between the two months prior.</p><p class="p1">She really shouldn’t start doing other things aside from deciphering the text Purah and Robbie gave her but… Zelda glanced back over her storm of a desk, from the infuriatingly messy notes to the even more frustrating blue light of the Sheikah Slate.</p><p class="p1">“Perhaps a break is the proper way to go about this,” she muttered to herself. It’s not like she could solve anything any faster if she was constantly drawing up blanks. She pulled another drawer open as she began fishing around for various mechanical equipments. To anyone else the contents of the drawer would look completely disastrous, but she knew where each and every single thing was by heart. Soon enough, Zelda began toying with the small contraption, tinkering with it. The pop and lock of each turn she made with her small wrench filled her anxious mind with ease. The methodic sound of metal clinking and gearing against one another always found a way to calm her. She peered at down at both of the cubes, trying to figure out why the one on the table had lit up, and why the other one in her hand hadn’t when she first found them.</p><p class="p1">It was always important to check every nook and cranny.</p><p class="p1">Every nook and cranny…</p><p class="p1">She scrutinized the inner design of the cube on the table, staring hard for a good ten minutes. There was something hidden in the corner—if she hadn’t angled it the way she did then, she wouldn’t have noticed it.</p><p class="p1">Inside was a tiny coil with two flaps on the side.</p><p class="p1">Her eyes flicked to the cube in her hand.</p><p class="p1">There was no tiny coil with two flaps on the side.</p><p class="p1">Her eyes darted back to the cube on the table, carefully reaching into it with her thumb and index finger. The coil was tiny to the point where she had to use her nails to draw it out. She puffed out her cheeks in concentration, narrowing her eyes as she held it up to eye level, before carefully positioning it inside the cube in her hands, straightening it out with absolute concentration.</p><p class="p1">“Oh I’ve got it now,” Zelda whispered, her voice brimming with excitement. She screwed two small nails in place, where the flaps were, to keep the coil from jumping out on accident. “Okay, okay, okay,” she muttered, closing the cute quickly, screwing it shut, waiting. “Will you do something now?”</p><p class="p1">Nothing happened.</p><p class="p1">“A little shy are we? Just like someone else I know, but with a little nudge he opened up, so maybe you will too.” Zelda began randomly tapping around the cube, simply experimenting. She pressed down on one of the faces, and it clicked down just a bit. She perked up and pressed down harder, almost dropping it once it begun vibrating.</p><p class="p1">Rather than hearing the expectant hum of life, it sputtered out black smoke into her face instead. She coughed and gagged a little, quickly waved it away from her face.</p><p class="p1">And then she saw it—a faint, orange glow amidst the dark smoke. She gasped and stood up, her chair scraping the floor beneath her as she did.</p><p class="p1">“It was <em>that</em> simple!” Zelda exclaimed, half whispering and half shouting. “Of course it was!” Immediately, she made a beeline for her bedroom door, buzzing with excitement. She <em>had</em> to show him. As Zelda reached for the handle, it jostled in her grip, but it wasn’t her that was shaking it.</p><p class="p1">It swung open—hitting her square in the face.</p><p class="p1">“Are you okay? I heard loud noises—“ Link said, his voice a little frantic.</p><p class="p1">“Link,” Zelda said quietly, a hand covering her face in pain.</p><p class="p1">“Huh?” His voice still had hints of sleep in them.</p><p class="p1">“You just hit—“ She paused, remembering the cube she had in her hand. “Nevermind that, look!” Zelda exclaimed enthusiastically, shoving the glowing cube in his face. “It was simply missing a part, a minuscule coil to be exact, so I found it in another cube contraption I discovered when we went to Gerudo, do you remember? The one near the temple? And now it works because it was just missing that little coil! And watch this!” She pressed a finger down on one of the faces of the cube, rapidly clicking. “You can do <em>this</em> but you can’t do it with the other cubes! I couldn’t press down on it before when it wasn’t lighting up either, but I knew there was a reason why this one looked different! Although…” She paused, breathing heavily. “Perhaps it wasn’t made just for us to only press down on.”</p><p class="p1">“Can I try?” Link asked, holding his hand out. She handed it to him eagerly, watching with anticipation as his eyes lit up as bright as the orange glow. He gave the button a couple of rapid clicks himself. “Oh do you think it’ll react to the Sheikah Slate? Everything that’s ancient always seems to react to it.”</p><p class="p1">“I haven’t tried yet,” Zelda said, hooking her elbow around his before dragging him over to her desk. “You can do the honor since it’s your idea! Perhaps this will be the beginning of your blossoming career as a researcher.” She held out a hand toward the Sheikah Slate, beaming brightly.</p><p class="p1">Before she had realized it, Link had become a little bit like her go-to partner whenever she messed around with Sheikah Technology, because he was the only other Hylian who ever entertained her interest in them.</p><p class="p1">Link tilted his head, hesitant on how to position it. He waved it a little in the air, unsure, as he glanced at her.</p><p class="p1">“Maybe above it first?” She offered, pointing at the space above it. He placed it down carefully. They both jumped when the metal button they had been pressing down on before suddenly sprung up, whirring. The orange light gradually faded into the familiar blue of the Sheikah Slate—but not much else happened.</p><p class="p1">Zelda bent down to peer at it at eye level, humming as she thought. Link bent down as well, matching her height.</p><p class="p1">“What if we do this?” She scooted the cube back a little—the further it got from the Sheikah Slate, the slower the whirring got, until the metal button folded back down into the base. Shortly after, the blue glow began fading back into a warm orange.</p><p class="p1">“Huh.” Zelda raised her eyebrows. “Fascinating!” She had no idea what its purpose was, but she continued to slide it across the table back and forth with humor, watching it respond sporadically.</p><p class="p1">Something rough touched her cheek, drawing her attention away from it.</p><p class="p1">“There was some soot,” Link said, wiping it from her cheek with a rag he had found on her desk.</p><p class="p1">“It’s unavoidable when you’re in this line of work,” Zelda said solemnly, watching him as he scrubbed it away. “This contraption can be the very thing to save our life during our next excursion, so you are <em>very</em> welcome.”</p><p class="p1">“Uh huh. I’ll pray to it to save me instead of Hylia then.”</p><p class="p1">Zelda scoffed, punching his arm lightly. “Don’t say that!”</p><p class="p1">He let out a little mischievous chortle, but it had certain a drop of drowsiness that warmed her.</p><p class="p1">She leaned in, giving him a quick peck on the lips.</p><p class="p1">Almost as soon as she drew back, he was already leaning in for another one, but she placed a finger on his lips, stopping him.</p><p class="p1">“Despite how cute you are when you’re sleepy, I’d much prefer you be well rested instead.” She moved her finger toward her bed, tilting her head to it. She hadn’t planned on persuading him into her room today, but now that he was already here, it was the perfect time for her to enact her mission to get him to sleep on something other than the cold, hard floor.</p><p class="p1">“I have tea?” Zelda offered when he didn’t answer, straightening up. “And my bed is an extremely nice, warm cozy bed. I assure you that it is much more sleep-worthy than the marble floor,” she promised. “And it’s in direct line of sight of my desk, where you can see me. A much better position to be in instead of standing guard outside my door.”</p><p class="p1">“Are you really trying to tempt me into your bed?” he asked.</p><p class="p1">“Putting it that way makes it sound improper,” Zelda stammered, looking away from him for a second. “Is it working though?”</p><p class="p1">“Are you gonna join me?”</p><p class="p1">She blinked once before pointing at herself. “Me? Oh—no. No, no, I’m going to be…” She gestured toward the mess of papers on her desk. “…doing what I do best.” Spending her time with inanimate objects that didn’t speak.</p><p class="p1">“Then I guess I’m staying up too,” he declared, yawning again.</p><p class="p1">“You can hardly keep your eyes open,” Zelda stated, poking his cheek.</p><p class="p1">“I can do it,” he replied back, unrelenting.</p><p class="p1">“Yes yes, I already know you are more than capable of that, which is why you don’t need to prove yourself.” Zelda tugged his arm. “At least sleep for a short while? I’ll wake you up.” He let her guide him to the side of her bed, and she pressed him down onto it by his shoulders. She chuckled as she watched him sit down timidly on it, stiff, as he unhooked the Master Sword from himself.</p><p class="p1">“Okay, no napping with your sword in your hands this time,” she insisted, snatching it up from him. Instinctively he reached out for it, his fingers twitching, but she twisted away from him. “Sleep without a weapon tonight—it’s dangerous anyways! And I doubt it’s all that comfortable.”</p><p class="p1">“You always sleep with the Sheikah Slate though,” Link protested.</p><p class="p1">“But it’s the <em>Sheikah Slate</em> Link,” she said, looking at him incredulously, but he simply raised an eyebrow at her. “The. Sheikah. Slate!” she said again, with emphasis. “Of course I’m going to sleep with it!”</p><p class="p1">“But that’s the Master Sword…”</p><p class="p1">“And the Master Sword is going over here.” She leaned it against the wall next to the fireplace, giving the top of the handle a loving pat. “Safe and sound!” She tossed a bright smile at him. “Oh don’t look at me like that. You’ve slept without the Master Sword before.”</p><p class="p1">“And you’ve slept without the Sheikah Slate before,” he muttered back.</p><p class="p1">“This is about <em>you </em>and the Master Sword, not <em>me </em>and the Sheikah Slate,” Zelda rebuked quickly, crossing her arms. “That’s a different conversation.”</p><p class="p1">He let out an exaggerated, tormented sigh and leaned back, falling flat on her bed with his arms extended out. He started mumbling something as he placed an arm over his eyes, but she couldn’t hear what he was saying.</p><p class="p1">Zelda frowned as she stood there, playing with her thumbs. Okay, she did feel a little guilty. Maybe he slept easier with it in his hands.</p><p class="p1">“In all seriousness though,” she started carefully as she walked back over, slightly leaning over him to get a better look at his face. “I’ll give it back if you really want it.“ He didn’t move from his position, nor give any indication that he had heard her.</p><p class="p1">“Link?” she asked, shaking his knee a little. She sat next to him, leaning over him again. He raised his arm a little to peek at her, and her lips tilted up into a smile. “I know you’re not slee—“</p><p class="p1">He pulled her down onto the bed with him, against the side of his chest as he wrapped his arms around her.</p><p class="p1">“Guess I’ll just hug you then,” he mumbled into her hair sluggishly. He let out another big yawn before he snuggled up a little closer.</p><p class="p1">“How can I possibly work when you’ve trapped me?” she asked, her voice muffled by the sleeve of his shirt. He flipped to his side, shifting her with him so that she was laying on his arm.</p><p class="p1">“I’ll be your notebook tonight,” he whispered.</p><p class="p1">She pulled her head back a little to look up at him, snorting. “Believe me when I say that you do <em>not</em> want to hear my unfiltered thoughts.” Even she could hardly understand them herself half the time.</p><p class="p1">“But I do,” he said. She could feel the slight movement of his fingers playing with the ends of her hair behind her back. “I like hearing you talk.”</p><p class="p1">She loosely placed a hand on his waist, drumming her fingers against him as she thought.</p><p class="p1">“Alright then,” she whispered, shifting her other arm from underneath her and placing it on his chest. “Today…” she started, spelling the word out on his chest. He began laughing as she continued sliding her finger across, and the hum of his body against hers as he continued to chuckle lulled her into a dozy state. As she continued her sleepy movements while whispering the story of her day to him, the rise and fall of his chest against her fingertips became deep and even. Her voice faded as she looked up at him, her hand resting in the space between them now. Even in his sleep he was quiet, but there was a peacefulness to his expression that was only ever present when he wasn’t awake. She shifted closer to him, curling up against his chest.</p><p class="p1">Zelda had always found it difficult to tell him that she loved him—maybe because it would solidify it, and if she said it out loud, just somehow, fate would find a way to fissure it. But maybe this time, if she kept it to herself, then maybe it wouldn’t happen, and she wouldn’t lose any more loved ones.</p><p class="p1">Her eyes fluttered shut as she cradled her love in her chest, in between the both of them, keeping it safe from harm.</p><p class="p1">She drifted off to the sound of his heartbeat pulsating against her cheek.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>A fun chapter... changed a lot of it the past couple days but I think it turned out alright!! I hope you all enjoyed it (~: I'll probably post the last one this coming Wednesday! And (unsurprisingly) it's gonna be a total 180 vibe from ch 9/10 because... you already know haha (':</p><p>Thanks for all the comments and kudos (as always!!) It always brings a smile to my face!! And thank you for sticking with me for this long!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. loss of innocence</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Between Memory 12-13</p><p>no more fluff time :(</p><p>tw; blood, violence</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">His grip on her wrist was iron tight, as if the next time she slipped from his grasp, she’d never return. Zelda tried to keep up with his pace against the slosh of mud, against the hard rain pattering heavily down on them, just <em>trying</em>. Trying to get away, to go somewhere.</p><p class="p1">She did not let herself cry for long when his fingers first slipped from her wrist—time didn’t permit her to grieve over her fallen friends, not when the Guardians were hot on their heels.</p><p class="p1">“Link, I don’t think it’s wise to head to Akkala Citadel,” Zelda insisted, tugging her arm back to get his attention. He slowed down a little, pulling her close as they took refuge behind a large rock.</p><p class="p1">“What do you mean?” he asked, breathless. “It has one of the best defenses.”</p><p class="p1">“That’s exactly why we shouldn’t go there. That’s going to be the place where they’ll probably head to after.” Zelda wiped the blood on his chin with her palm, frowning. “Additionally, the path there would be too dangerous for the both of us to traverse.” Her eyes searched for signs of fatigue on him—he was good at masking his pain, but there was always a limit. Hero or not, there was always one.</p><p class="p1">He looked distraught at her words. His lips moved in a silent whisper to himself, probably trying to string his thoughts together before he spoke them to her.</p><p class="p1">“Hateno—“ they both said together.</p><p class="p1">“We can also get your family to safety,” Zelda said quickly. “I know you must be concerned to death about them.”</p><p class="p1">“…I trust my dad enough to take care of Aryll. She’ll keep him in check too,” Link said, but it was evident that he was trying to ease his own worry for them.</p><p class="p1">“Regardless,” Zelda insisted, “I want to… to at least protect them. I’d feel better if we could also take them to a safer location.”</p><p class="p1">Link mustered up a half smile.</p><p class="p1">They both flinched as the sound of the Guardian’s appeared once more, echoing incessantly throughout the storm around them, forcing them out of their breath of rest. Without a moments notice, they were up and running again, as Zelda strained to see what was ahead of them—the mist from the endless rain had obscured much of what she could see.</p><p class="p1">As they continued to run, Link snatched up a battered shield off of a fallen Hylian soldier and quickly latched it around his other arm. Her gaze lingered on the body as she passed by him—the soldier was laying face down in the mud, limp and gray. She wondered who he was, if he had a family. If he… if he—</p><p class="p1">She rammed into Link’s shoulder as he suddenly halted to a stop, his grip on her wrist loosening.</p><p class="p1">“What—“</p><p class="p1">Suddenly he dropped forward to one knee, bending over, clawing at his left shoulder as a hiss escaped his lips.</p><p class="p1">“Link!” Zelda gasped, running around to bend down in front of him. The first thing she noticed was pain and… and <em>fear</em> swimming in his eyes. Her gaze shifted from his eyes to his shoulder; an arrow—</p><p class="p1">Her heart leapt to her throat as he grabbed her and shoved her down under him, shielding her body. Arrows whizzed above them as Link held the crumbling shield over them before twisting to the side, forcing them to roll down the muddy hill as they avoided another volley of arrows.</p><p class="p1">They tumbled down blindly, and the only thing she could hear was the sound of snapping branches and ear piercing cackles of laughter mixing in with the pounding of the pouring rain. They tumulted into the darkness of the shrubbery at the bottom of the hill, her eyes searching wildly for some semblance of familiarity in their surroundings. They broke through some bushes, and it slowed their tumbling to a stop into a small clearing.</p><p class="p1">“Are you okay?” he whispered against her ear.</p><p class="p1">Upon hearing his voice, Zelda sucked in a sharp breath of air, reminding herself to breath. She let out a strangled sound of affirmation, finding herself unable to speak. As she wiped the rain from her eyes, he lifted himself up from her on his elbows, flinching. The shaft of the arrow had broken off during their tumble, and as he flipped over onto his back he tore the rest of it out.</p><p class="p1">“Why would you—Link you know you’re not supposed to do that!” Zelda sputtered, hastily scrambling up and pressing her hands against his wound instinctively. “What if you tore something!” She glanced at the arrow that he had tossed aside—</p><p class="p1">Her heart dropped.</p><p class="p1">She looked back again, staring at it a bit longer, at the tip of the arrow. There were hints of green mixed in with the blood that coated it, as if… as if…</p><p class="p1">She pulled down the collar of his shirt, ignoring his weak hands trying to stop her. A sickly green pulsated from the wound, and it continued to spread with marks like violent veins. Her lips quivered as she continued to stare at it.</p><p class="p1">What could she do? What was it? What kind of poison? From an animal? Insect? Monster parts? A mix? She needed to test it, but… but where could she even go to make an antidote?</p><p class="p1">More time.</p><p class="p1">She needed more—</p><p class="p1">Link forced her head down against his chest with one hand as he hastily brought the Master Sword up above them with the other—Zelda violently flinched as the sound of metal on metal clashed above her, the blades grazing the top of her head. He grunted as he parried the blade away from them, quickly standing as he dragged her up with him, pulling her behind him.</p><p class="p1">Her eyes darted back and forth around the dark denseness of the forest that was beginning to swallow them up—her ears heard one thing in the corner, but her eyes saw another in the opposite direction, and it seemed as if no matter where she was looking the Yiga Footsoldiers were everywhere, surrounding them.</p><p class="p1">“There’s only three,” Link whispered to her, breaking her out of her thoughts. “We can get out of this.”</p><p class="p1">“How do you know?” she whispered back, her voice trembling with each word. “I—they’re everywhere, I can’t—“ She couldn’t focus; not with the pounding rain and the sounds of their laughter reverberating around the both of them, invading her thoughts.</p><p class="p1">“Last combat training lesson for the day,” he said, trying to make his voice light as they continued to take slow steps back. “Try to only focus on the sounds around you. Let each sound filter through first.”</p><p class="p1">Zelda would’ve laughed if she wasn’t terrified half to death. She let out a strained exhale, focusing on his back as she willed herself to calm her racing heart. She pulled up her dress, searching for the harness that was strapped around her thigh. Once her fingers found the handle to the dagger, she unsheathed it, holding it firmly in her grip, just like he taught her.</p><p class="p1">Separate the rain, the sound of their breathing, the rustle of the leaves on the trees and brush shifting around them.</p><p class="p1">Separate them, and…</p><p class="p1">They both stiffened as they glanced ahead. Link drew up his shield, blocking a strike from one of the Yiga Footsoldiers. But then another came rushing to his side, and his grip on the shield was flimsy due to his seeping strength from the poison running through his veins—he struggled against the onslaught of the two Yiga Footsoldiers, their movements fast and sharp—quicker than Link could follow. The shield was beginning to crack and break, and Link’s movements had become noticeably sluggish as he struggled to keep the both of them shielded from getting sliced up.</p><p class="p1">Her ear twitched as a sound came from her left—the third Yiga Footsoldier dashed toward her, his blade held up high as it began closing in on her neck. She stood there stiff and wide-eyed, frozen in place.</p><p class="p1">
  <em>Move.</em>
</p><p class="p1">She grit her teeth, raising her wrist up at the incoming swing as she bared for impact. The blade of the Yiga Footsoldier slammed against her metal wristlet, scraping as they both struggled against each other’s weight—he paused, his mask shifting from her raised arm to her face, as if he was surprised by the block. A snarl ripped out of her as she swung her dagger at his waist, tearing through cloth and flesh with a sickening squelch, his blood splattering over her hand. He stepped back, but she advanced forward, forcing the dagger in deeper, further, until she could feel her hand press against the open wound.</p><p class="p1">He tore away from her, and as he did so, the handle of the dagger slipped from her grasp. The other two Yiga Footsoldiers appeared next to him, just as bloodied and beaten up from slash marks that Link must’ve inflicted upon them. They gripped the arms of their wounded ally, holding him up as they took slow steps back.</p><p class="p1">Zelda stared at them as her bloodied hand trembled. The red dripped onto the damp grass beneath her, mixing in with the dirt. She didn’t look away until the three of them disappeared into the air without a trace.</p><p class="p1">“Zelda,” Link said softly. Her breathing stilled as he grasped her bloody hand, and her once narrowed vision widened as she shifted her gaze to his face.</p><p class="p1">She stared at him, her hand tightening around his as she simply gazed at the blood dripping from his cuts and wounds, at the bruises blooming over his ashen skin. “We gotta move.”</p><p class="p1">“But your wound,” Zelda said, her voice trembling. Her other hand hovered over his shoulder, unsure of what to do.</p><p class="p1">“Later. We need to keep going,” Link said quietly, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb. “Did you get hit?” he asked, smoothing her tangled hair away from her face with his free hand. Before she even answered, he was already checking her body for any wounds.</p><p class="p1">She shook her head curtly, glancing back down at the hand he was still holding. The rain had washed away most of the blood, but she swore she could still see red staining her fingers. The rain couldn’t wash away everything, and his hands couldn’t either.</p><hr/><p class="p1">The rain pattered on endlessly, and the further they advanced, the heavier his breathing got.</p><p class="p1">“Link, if the poison doesn’t kill you the blood loss will. Let me at least cover the wound,” Zelda insisted, tugging his hand back to stop him from pressing forward. Reluctantly he obliged, and they sat down behind a broken down house.</p><p class="p1">She gathered the skirt of her dress, roving through it to find the cleanest part that wasn’t drenched with dirt, and ripped.</p><p class="p1">“What are you—“</p><p class="p1">“I don’t know,” she responded, her voice thick with hopelessness. She needed to do something, and this was all she could do. She turned toward him, fumbling with the ripped cloth. Her eyes widened as she noticed that the green veins had begun crawling over his shoulder down to his back, as if it was wrapping itself around his skin. At the rate it was spreading…</p><p class="p1">She searched his face with wide eyes, but he wasn’t looking at her, he was looking somewhere past her, as if he was daydreaming. His eyes fluttered sleepily. It worried her.</p><p class="p1">“You said my name,” she whispered, hoping that conversation would keep him awake.</p><p class="p1">“You wouldn’t look at me otherwise,” he said, laughing weakly. “I should’ve done it earlier, I like saying your name.” He winced as she began wrapping the cloth around his injury. An apology was at the tip of her tongue, until he spoke again.</p><p class="p1">“Zelda, Zelda, Zelda…” he muttered, closing his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, she saw only herself reflected in the vast blueness of them.</p><p class="p1">“You’re an absolute mess, did you know that?”</p><p class="p1">“Your mess,” he said, his words slurring together a little. She couldn’t help but crack a smile at him, soft and sad, before she returned her attention to his shoulder. She was fixated on tending to it, fixated on finding a way to get rid of the poison—and then out of the corner of her eyes she noticed his head loll to the side. She paused, whipping her head from his shoulder to his face with growing panic.</p><p class="p1">The darkness in his eyes painted dread within her.</p><p class="p1">Zelda placed frantic hands on his cheeks, shaking him a little. He was fading, right in front of her.</p><p class="p1">“Link, stay with me, please,” Zelda begged, lightly patting the sides of his face in an attempt to wake him. His breathing became raspier by the second, as his eyes shut.</p><p class="p1">“No, no, no,” she pleaded, her voice crumbling. “Open your eyes, Link!”</p><p class="p1">He was still, the rise and fall of his chest quick and shaky.</p><p class="p1">“Link, wake up…” she whispered thickly, simply waiting. All she could do was wait.</p><p class="p1">He shifted—painstakingly slow, but he opened his eyes again, with effort. He pat her hand weakly, reassuring her that he was okay.</p><p class="p1">“We should split off—that way you’ll be less of a target,” she said quickly, not letting a moment go to waste. “You can go to Kakariko to meet with Impa and she can… I’m sure she can get rid of the poison. And I’ll make sure your family is safe.” She paused, hoping that he would agree. When he didn’t say anything, she egged him on a little more. “How does that sound? And… and then we can meet up again?”</p><p class="p1">He blinked the rain out of his eyes as he shook his head, refusing. “After I get the three of you to safety—“</p><p class="p1">“There isn’t enough time!” She choked out as a strangled, dry sob erupted out of her. She covered her face with trembling hands in frustration. “Don’t you understand? I can’t lose you,” she whispered brokenly. She didn’t know how to make it more clear to him, for him to understand the gravity of what she was feeling, and it left her feeling more alone than ever before. “Not you too.”</p><p class="p1">Several heartbeats passed between them, as the world she once knew chipped away from her bit by bit.</p><p class="p1">He carefully moved her hand away, and when she saw his beaten and battered face, a pang of pain stabbed her chest. “Okay, I’ll go there. But let me take you to the entrance to Fort Hateno at least.”</p><p class="p1">“Really?” she asked, sniffing. “Do you swear it?”</p><p class="p1">“I promise,” he said, brushing a stray tear from her cheek. He slid up against the broken wall, using the wreckage to pull himself up. He took a moment to regain his bearings and his strength, before unsheathing the Master Sword once more. He held out his other hand to her, making the effort to smile as he waited for her. She carefully took his hand, intertwining their fingers together.</p><p class="p1">Her heart sank at how weak his grip was; flimsy, fragile.</p><p class="p1">And with each step they took, the warmth of his skin only grew fainter.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The end!! ;-;</p><p>I changed quite a bit of this the past two days (it was actually a tad bit darker) because I didn't want to take away the impact of the Memory 13 haha. Thank you so much for reading until the very end! It means the world to me ahh!! I'm so happy I got to share this story with you! It was a blast to write, and I have many more ideas! I have so many wips, it's concerning honestly LOL. Also after writing this I had a major urge to write fluff ;o; I do have a super short one shot I plan on posting over the weekend! I wrote it on the whim yesterday ohoho.</p><p>I might make a sequel to this! I do have some BOTW2 ideas floating around, but I probably wouldn't release it until I actually have chapters written since it's just barebones right now haha.</p><p>I also would love to talk if any of you feel like it! Headcanons! Theories! Whatever! Even if it's just about your day! Feel free to hit me up here:<br/>Tumblr: @syilcawrites<br/>Twitter: @_syilca</p><p>Anyways, thanks again for all the kudos and comments! Reading/seeing them always make my days brighter!! I hope the rest of the year is kind to you!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks so much for reading!  BOTW is my first Zelda game, and I absolutely adore the world that they've created, so I decided to take a dive into it myself!!<br/>I plan to post on Tuesdays!<br/></p></blockquote></div></div>
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